Ties That Bind
by anarin
Summary: Renegades Pregame. It's time for the Renegades to start making themselves a place in the world, but between the Desians and the mysterious group of humans following them, how will they ever get anything accomplished?
1. Exiles

Author's Note: Yay, the first chapter! In case you couldn't tell, this is the sequel to my fic "Reliance" - I'd suggest reading that first, but you don't have to if you don't want to. This story takes place about 30 years after "Reliance", which puts it at about 420 years before the game. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated - they help me out and encourage me to post faster. Enjoy!

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It was, as most tended to be, a quiet day in Exire. The place that was home to most non-Desian half-elves continued to float serenely above Tethe'alla as it always had, constantly moving in a holding pattern that never left it visible to one area of the surface world for more than a few minutes at a time. It was a very uneventful place to live, but most of its inhabitants preferred that to the constant discrimination they felt in human cities – and, up here where you had to have magic or technology to get, they were safe from the violent mobs that would occasionally form against half-elves as well. Yes, for all that it was boring, Exire was a safe haven for the exiles of the world.

It wasn't, however, a good place to plot rebellion against Cruxis.

The Renegades had chosen Exire as a temporary place to hold their headquarters because many of them already lived there, but their leaders had decided long ago that a larger, more secretive base was necessary. They had to be very careful when discussing their plans and goals in Exire, since many of the other inhabitants had friends or relatives working for the Grand Cardinals. Leaking their plans would mean their deaths, Lord Yuan had lectured, or at the very least some intense brainwashing. To avoid this unpleasant fate, he had sent several teams to survey the two worlds for the best location for a base and now, after twenty-five years, the survey was complete.

Botta closed his eyes as he wrapped his hands around the warm mug of tea he'd been given. The magic flows of the two worlds had shifting patterns, but he and the full-spectrum mage Lucien had finally been able to finish their diagram of Sylvarant. It had actually been easier to map the mana-poor Tethe'alla because the flows had only strengthened with time, but in Sylvarant the mana lines were weakening and it was more difficult to tell a dimensional weakness from the action of a mana link. Still, with the help of the instruction he'd received from Gnome, Botta was eventually able to pinpoint several locations that would be ideal for the Sylvarant side of the pair of bases the Renegades hoped to construct. All that remained was to have a general meeting with everyone and choose a location, and they could begin construction.

"Lord Yuan should be arriving soon, Lord Botta," said Julius as he joined Botta at the small table next to the window. He idly tucked a strand of red hair behind his ear and stared out, scanning the sky. "Should I begin gathering everyone?"

"Please," Botta said and nodded. "I will head down to the conference room and begin setting out the figures. Let me know when Lord Yuan arrives." He drained his mug and stood up, stretching muscles that were still sore from the morning's weapons practice. A brief stint in the Triet Guard before they'd outlawed half-elves had given him a much better base in combat techniques than most of the other Renegades, so Botta was much in demand as an instructor. He grinned as he began to gather the materials for the meeting, remembering the ease with which Yuan had casually flattened everyone in the last mock-battle only to be caught off guard with an Aqua Edge spell from Lucien, who enjoyed seeing their commander soaking wet.

Because of his duties to Cruxis, Yuan was never able to be around very often, though he did make the best of his free time by training and guiding the Renegades whenever he was able. It wasn't nearly often enough, Botta thought, but he was beginning to gain confidence in his own role as a leader that he was able to deal with it fairly well. It wasn't easy, of course, but so far he hadn't encountered any serious obstacles.

Botta wondered how long that was going to last.

As he finished setting up the chamber they'd dubbed the conference room (one of the only common rooms in the entire city), the Renegades began to filter in. There weren't yet very many who had decided to join Yuan in his quest to awaken the Seed of the Great Tree, but already Exire was feeling the strain of having a population larger than usual.

"Botta!" called a familiar voice from the doorway. "Are you ready to tell me about the survey results?"

Smiling, Botta met the eyes of his commander and friend. "Welcome back, Lord Yuan. We are indeed ready to present our findings." He nodded to Lucien, who jumped up and began to cast a spell that would let him draw figures on the air for a visual reference.

Scanning over the crowd to ascertain that everyone was present, Botta began his speech. "As you all know, we are growing in number and will soon need to find a new place to make our home. The best place would be an isolated area where the experimental dimensional transfer system developed by Lord Yuan and our other mages will work to optimum capacity, and we have spent the last few years trying to find such a place. We have narrowed it down to three potential sites.

"First, the northernmost location." He pointed at a spot on Lucien's map of Tethe'alla. "This place has a very weak dimensional barrier. However, it is right on top of the location of the old Archipelago Ranch. Building there might cause a panic in the general population which would negate our attempts at secrecy. It is isolated, but as technology grows more commonplace it will be visible to anyone sailing in larger ships. It is also possible that the Grand Cardinal who ran the Archipelago Ranch will continue to have interest in this area." He looked at Yuan, who nodded.

"Cardinal Jomark's unlikely to maintain an interest in the area, but it can't hurt to be careful," said the Seraph.

"Next, we have the eastern location. This one is in a very isolated area." He pointed at a spot on the map almost directly south of Flanoir in the fjords. "The dimensional transfer system would likely need a little more power, but building a base in one of the islands in this area would be exceedingly well concealed from outsiders. We may have difficulty shipping in some of the raw materials, but a modified Rheiard should be able to airlift most of the supplies in. Also, it is close enough to the ruins of Cardinal Safera's Flanoir Ranch that we should be able to easily scavenge supplies from there. On the Sylvarant side, it comes out over a mountain range in the Triet Desert that could be used either to build a concealed base in the mountains or an open one in the desert itself.

"Last, the southern location." Botta indicated a spot on the Altamira continent north of the mountain range. "Here we have a place in the mountain range that had a deposit of Exspheres, probably from an ancient version of a human ranch. They could easily be used to power our machines and the dimensional transfer system as well as for our own personal use. This side of the world rarely gets visitors, so it would offer excellent concealment. Unfortunately, the Sylvarant side comes out over the ocean."

Botta paced back and forth in front of the glowing display. "My own personal choice would be the eastern location, but I am open to other suggestions. Would anyone like to add anything?"

A woman named Selma raised her hand. "Sir, could we just extract the Exspheres from the southern location and use them without building a base there?"

Botta nodded. "Yes, but there are so many buried in that place that magic in the area is generally amplified and we would not gain as great a benefit as if we constructed directly on the site." He fielded a few more questions before Yuan gave him the signal to stop.

Yuan joined Botta at the front of the room. "First of all, I would like to offer my sincere thanks to everyone who participated in this project." He beamed a smile at everyone in the room. "All three are good choices, but I would like to go with Botta's suggestion and begin construction at the eastern site. We'll keep the other two in mind as alternatives, but the difficulty we'll have constructing it will be negated by the benefit we'll have from the concealment.

"Of course, since we want this to be a high-tech facility, it won't be as easy as contracting out some carpenter from Ozette to build it. I like the idea of scavenging materials from the destroyed ranches, but we're also going to have to get some of the building supplies directly from the stores in the Tower of Salvation. That means I'm going to need some of you to come along with me and infiltrate Cruxis, disguising yourselves as Desians. Lucien, I know you'd rather be caught dead than enter the Tower and risk discovery, so I'm putting you in charge of the salvage squad. The rest of you will have to decide which group you'll belong to by tomorrow morning. Please let either Botta or myself know which group you'd prefer to be in and I will announce the final groupings tomorrow."

With that, the meeting was dismissed.


	2. Shortcake!

Yuan was excited to be starting construction on the Renegade base, even though he knew they still had plenty more to work on. Training Desians to use Lightning magic was incredibly boring, but he'd been suckered into it because he was the only one that wasn't working on some pet project at the moment. _Heh. Or so they think, anyway._

"Sir, that grin of yours is starting to worry me," said Botta with a straight face as he joined Yuan at the table. He'd fixed Yuan's favorite food (shortcake with strawberries and peaches but NOT grapes), which Yuan began to eat greedily.

"What?" he asked, mouth full of food. "I'm not allowed to be happy that we're ready to move ahead?"

"Sir, most of the time when you grin like that, it means you're going to hit someone with a Lightning spell." Botta looked like he was trying not to laugh. Oh, he was pretty good at keeping a straight face, but Yuan had spent the last few thousand years with Kratos, the self-proclaimed Master of Poker.

Yuan swallowed. "This is really good, Botta. But I'm just excited about this base idea. We've been working towards it long enough; now we're taking action. No matter how many times you have a long-term plan like this, you always get excited when it's time to actually do something."

Botta nodded. "I see. You will want the salvage team and the infiltration team to move simultaneously, then?"

"Yes. It's a more efficient use of our time. The Flanoir Ranch was left mostly intact, except for the ceiling, but a little carefully controlled fire magic should make most of the internal resources accessible again. Julius would have been my first choice for that, but Lucien will do well, I think. If he decides to join that team, all the better, but I think he may yet need to resolve some issues between himself and his brother. That means he'll want to come along with me to the Tower of Salvation." Licking up the last bit of cream, he asked Botta "Have you decided where you'd like to go yet?"

"With you," Botta immediately said. Yuan couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. "If nothing else, I have been to Welgaia before and know what to expect," he added.

"Terrible food, mostly," muttered Yuan. "And that stuff the Desians serve isn't much better, though at least it has the redeeming value of being nutritious. Just because _most_ of the angels don't taste doesn't mean Yggdrasill has to requisition _all_ the good food." He pointed at Botta with his fork. "If nothing else, at least the Renegades can _cook_ better than Cruxis."

Just when he thought he'd actually gotten Botta to the point where he would break down and start laughing, there was a knock on the door. Yuan cursed silently at the interruption, but smiled when he saw who it was. "Julius! I was just wondering if you'd made a decision yet."

"Ah, yes, sir." Julius looked a little uncomfortable. "I would like to join the infiltration team, if that is possible."

Yuan nodded. "I'd been expecting as much. We'll be glad to have you."

Julius gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Lord Yuan. I know I may not get another chance to see Magnius, but—"

"No, it's quite all right," Yuan interrupted. "Just try not to leak our existence to him."

"Of course not," Julius said, sounding slightly offended. "Is there anything I'll need to bring with me?"

"A good book or three," suggested Botta. "It does get boring up there."

"I _will_ be trying to keep you busy, but Botta is absolutely right. There will be downtime, so prepare for that as necessary. I'd also suggest a good pillow, unless you like sleeping on those horrible rock-hard things the Desians provide." Yuan shuddered. "They're supposed to make you tough, but they're hell on your neck."

"Thank you, sirs. I will be ready by morning." Julius bowed and left.

"I'd better start making a list of who will be assigned to each group," Yuan mused, "or I'll forget. Will you hand me some paper?"

As Botta got up to find a blank sheet, Lucien strolled in. Something of a fashion addict, Lucien liked to dye his hair different colors depending on his moods. Today, his hair was a rather hideous orange that made him immediately noticeable when entering a room. "Good evening, Lord Yuan, Lord Botta," he greeted his commanders. "Giving me the easy job?"

"It's not that I don't have confidence in your abilities, Lucien," Yuan said, grinning. He'd always been fond of the young man he'd rescued from Cruxis's half-elf breeding program. "Quite the opposite, in fact. Since Botta will be with me, you'll be the commander in our absence."

Lucien's eyes lit up. "Oh, well, when I look at it that way, it's not so bad. You were right, though; there's no way I'd go back to that place unless I had to."

"I'll try to see to it that you don't have to," replied Yuan, scribbling some names on the paper Botta had given him, "but I won't make any promises. In the meantime, I trust I don't have to remind you to be discreet?"

"Leave it to me," Lucien said, thumping his own chest. "But where should I be putting this stuff I'm gathering?"

"There is a small cavern on the island marked G-4 on the map of the Flanoir continent," Botta said. "I will be able to enlarge it once I return. Until then, it should be large enough for storage. Eventually, I would like to expand as much of it as possible so the entire base can be located inside the island with little or no sign on the surface."

"Ooh, that's a good idea," Lucien said, getting a fascinated look on his face. "You should really teach me how, so that I can help you."

Yuan resisted the urge to throw something at the young mage. Lucien had an unhealthy obsession with trying out dangerous new magical techniques and Yuan was _sure_ he would blow up something important one day. "You and your freakish ability to control all the elements," Yuan muttered. "Now go and start working on a proposal. I'll want a detailed idea of what you're going to be doing over the next few weeks."

Lucien saluted. "You'll have it by morning, sir."

Once Lucien had left the room, Yuan turned back to Botta. "Do you think he's a good choice for temporary commander?" He was curious as to what his second-in-command thought of the idea. Yuan's experience with the Desians had taught him that underlings could be easily moved by jealousy, but so far Botta had proven to be exceptionally fair-minded.

Botta thought for a moment before answering. "He is not always the most serious of people," he said slowly, "but one could say the same of you, Lord Yuan. He has a very good grasp of the long-term effects of major actions, but I am not certain that his short-term judgment is as reliable. This should be a good opportunity to test that. However, I would suggest convincing one of the more experienced Renegades to stay here and advise him in preparation for the unlikely event of an emergency."

Yuan nodded. "That would give him someone to fall back on in case he starts to lose confidence in himself," he said thoughtfully. "Did you have anyone in mind?"

"Polly, I think," said Botta, frowning in thought. "She's unlikely to want to be on the infiltration team and her ice magic should be useful to cover their tracks around Flanoir."

Yuan nodded, adding "Polly" under "Lucien's group" on his paper. "Five down, twelve to go," he said, satisfied. "This should be interesting."

"I'm not certain your idea of 'interesting' is necessarily a good thing, sir," said Botta sourly.

Yuan just grinned.


	3. Departure at Last

Author's Note: Hi guys! Sorry this one is a little on the short side. Work decided to get really busy today...sigh...but anyway, I hope y'all like it!

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Botta nodded in approval as he surveyed the groups the Renegades had split themselves into. There would be six in Lucien's salvage group and then ten, plus Yuan, in the group that would be heading to the Tower of Salvation to gather the rest of the supplies they'd need, as well as valuable information about the long-term plans of the various Desian Cardinals. It would still be a hundred years or more before they would build the human ranches in Sylvarant, or so Yuan had explained, but in the meantime they'd be plotting against each other or conducting research experiments or otherwise trying to gain the favor of Yggdrasill and the angels. The Renegades would be gathering information about those plots to sabotage them or influence them in ways that would lead to unexpected results. They still weren't quite sure _how_ they were going to revive the Great Seed, after all, and the Desians would be in a much better place to study it.

"While we're all here," Yuan said, "I'd like to clarify a few points." Everyone stopped talking among themselves and gave him their full attention. "First of all, while I've provided each of you with a list of materials we'll need, keep in mind that it is only a very basic list. If you find anything useful that you think we can safely acquire, go ahead and do so. Please remember that the key word here is _safely_. I'm sure we could use a mana reactor; it won't be possible to get one without attracting entirely too much attention. Keep to the shadows when you can and blend in when you can't.

"Secondly, we're going to need to coordinate between the two groups as much as possible. From the Tower, we'll be leaving the materials we gather in a small storage room on the far side of the chasm, and it will be the salvage team's responsibility to move them from that room to the construction site. In return, we'll keep the Cardinals busy enough that they won't bother checking up on the old ranch sites while you're poking around in there.

"Once we have the minimum required materials, we can actually begin building. When we reach that point, the infiltration team and, hopefully, I will return to help with the construction. In the even that I cannot join you, I'll at least provide you with detailed blueprints.

"If anyone would like to change groups, this will probably be your last chance." Nobody said anything. Yuan nodded. "Very well. You're all dismissed."

The salvage team left under Lucien's guidance. Botta hoped that the young mage would do well, though it was, as Lucien had said the night before, "the easy job". The expressions of the other nine Renegades that he and Yuan would be leading ranged from excited to fretfully nervous. Julius looked like he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. Botta himself had only slept for a few hours, having stayed up most of the night with Yuan making plans and getting ideas down on paper, but then he wasn't worried about running into anyone who might recognize him. _And if they do recognize me from the little training I had before Yuan abducted me to be his assistant, well, so much the better. It should verify my place nicely._

"I have good news and bad news," Botta began. "The good news is that, in case you were not aware, the Desian uniforms are very face-concealing. If you're worried about being recognized, keep the helmet on. There are enough within the organization that do so on a regular basis; you will not be singled out. The bad news is that it will be much more difficult to recognize each other that way, which means we may need an identifying marker."

"How about a badge that says we're in direct service to one of the Seraphim?" suggested Gwen, a dark-haired woman Botta had learned to respect for the quickness of her mind.

"That's not a bad idea," said Yuan. "Kratos and I do occasionally pick Desians to use for strange projects. Plus, it has the added advantage of being true." He grinned. "I like it. I'll try to work something out as soon as we get there."

"Our cover story is that we're working on some project for one of the Seraphim and that we don't know all the details – we just do whatever it is we're ordered to. This, also, is mostly true. We are not to mention Lord Yuan by name." That got some surprised looks, so he explained. "The identities of the Seraphim are kept secret from the Desians. We are to refer to him as 'Lord Seraph' if we need to talk to him directly while he is displaying his angelic form." Yuan spread his wings in demonstration, nearly whacking Botta (probably deliberately, judging by the wink). "The rest of it should be fairly straightforward; however, Lord Yuan has reminded me to warn you that the food in the Tower of Salvation is very bad." Several people giggled nervously. "If there is a certain dish you like, remember to bring the ingredients yourself or be prepared to consume a great deal of tasteless glop."

"It's perfectly good for you," Yuan insisted, then changed the subject. "I don't have the Desian uniforms here because I didn't know how many we'd need, but that shouldn't be a problem. I have a small section of the barracks reserved for my own use, which should be more than big enough for the lot of you." He grinned at them. Botta noticed that, between the two of them, they'd managed to calm everyone down admirably.

_Let's hope it lasts._

"If there are no more questions, we will prepare to leave from the northern launch pad immediately," Botta said, and was rewarded with salutes. "Gather what you need and report there. Lord Yuan and I will be waiting."

Botta had already packed everything he would be needing, naturally. He hoped it would be enough – _though I should be able to requisition anything else I will need from the stores_. He'd followed his own advice and packed a generous amount of red and white satay: red for his favorite (curry) and white for the occasional craving for sweet foods that would hit him unexpectedly.

It wasn't long before the rest of the group made its way over to the launch pad. Including himself and Yuan, there were six men and five women. Botta knew the ratio was a little off – there had been approximately two men for every woman when he had last been a part of the Desians – but if they were masquerading themselves as having been randomly picked from the larger mass of soldiers, it shouldn't draw too much attention. Yuan had said there were currently somewhere around four hundred Desians, on the low end because of the ones who had been killed during the last journey of world regeneration by Tethe'alla's Chosen but enough so that a handful of strangers could mingle in without too much trouble as long as they were careful. _Or so we hope._

_No_, he corrected himself, _we must act as if it were true. The best way to avoid getting caught is to seem like you belong, and checking our backs every hour to see if anyone is watching is a sure sign that we do not._

Shaking his head to clear it, Botta gave the signal for liftoff and ten Rheiards and one angel sped off towards the Tower of Salvation.


	4. First Command

Author's Note: FINALLY! I've only been trying to upload this for the past 6 or 7 hours...Really sorry, guys, but I honestly was trying to get this up earlier. On the plus side, it means I've already started the next chapter!

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"What do you know, there really _is_ a cave in here," Lucien said approvingly as the six of them landed on the medium-sized islet in the vicious fjords around the Flanoir continent. The other five Renegades he'd been put in charge of were, much to Lucien's chagrin, all older than him. Not that that was particularly unusual – at fifty-four, he was one of the youngest Renegades. He just hoped that his first command wouldn't turn into a colossal failure.

"It's nice and large," commented Ansel, a man who, like Lucien, had abilities Cruxis coveted. In his case it was a good command of Light magic: a desirable trait for the angel transformation. Also like Lucien, Ansel has no desire to go through the painful process of losing his emotions and free thought only to serve those who had twisted the world for eternity (or close to it, anyway).

"Yeah. Let me check it out a little more," Lucien said. He closed his eyes and felt around for the concentration of Earth mana that usually resided in caves. Once he'd found it, he tried his best to imitate Botta's "send your consciousness along the mana flows until you feel like a part of the earth itself" technique. He knew he wasn't _quite_ as good at it as Botta was, but it still left him with a good idea of what the insides of the little island looked like. "Okay, there is another large chamber back a little farther and on the left. There are also a couple of…uh…bubbles over that way," he said, gesturing off to the right, "but we'd need to tunnel through some solid rock to get there, so we'll wait until Lord Botta and the other team are done to do that."

"We should go look at the other chamber accessible from here," said Polly, the elderly Ice mage Yuan and Botta had convinced to come along and advise Lucien. He gathered it hadn't taken much convincing, since she was good friends with Ansel.

Lucien wasn't quite sure why Polly was a Renegade. Since he'd been surveying Sylvarant with Botta almost ever since he'd quit his magitech repair business, Lucien hadn't gotten to know many of the other Renegades very well. He knew she had a son somewhere that wasn't Exire, but he'd never heard how she met Yuan or what had made her decide to work against Cruxis and the Desians. He supposed it was probably just because she was essentially a nice person and didn't like the idea of being controlled by an organization that wanted to kill everyone who didn't fit their exacting standards…but he wasn't sure. _Maybe I'll get a chance to find out_.

He made a gesture to Ansel, who tapped his staff on the floor three times. The crystal set at the head of the staff began to glow with a bright light, illuminating the cavern where the sun's light didn't touch. "The other cavern is over this way," he said, pacing off to the back of the cavern. It was a fairly simple Darkness spell to see in even pitch black, but that kind of magic was rare and difficult to master if you weren't born with it, so Lucien didn't bother – everyone else would need the light anyway.

Even though he was expecting it to be large, Lucien was impressed with the height of the second cavern. His team, who hadn't known it would be this big, gave gasps of surprise that echoed all the way up. "It's hollow almost all the way to the top," he said smugly. "A room like this would be great for storing generators and the like, and until then it should be more than safe enough to store raw materials. Even if someone decides to check out this island, they probably won't realize the caves go back this far."

"It should be a simple matter to set up a security force field in the tunnel between the caverns as well," Polly remarked. "An illusion of a cave-in could be set with very little difficulty."

"Let's do it," Lucien said, nodding. He turned to the quietest member of his team – _Rica, that's her name_ – and asked, "Would you mind helping me?" She was a fighter, but she was also proficient at Water magic, which for some reason made forming illusions easier. _I'll have to remember to ask Yuan why that is_.

Rica blushed. "Yes, sir," she whispered. She began casting, and the blue glow of a Water magic circle started to compete with Ansel's staff for light in the room. Gently layering his own magic onto her pattern, Lucien let her form the illusion while he tied it into the ambient mana fields of the island, ensuring that it would sustain itself even after they left. Once it was complete, he beamed a smile at Rica. The poor girl was awfully shy, but she could also slam arrows into a target with deadly accuracy, and her magic was well-crafted.

"This should stand up to a casual inspection, wouldn't you say?" Lucien asked.

Polly nodded in approval, but another Renegade stuck his hand through the illusion, giggling as it seemed to disappear. "Only casual inspection," he said.

"Nobody really lands on these islands if they can avoid it," Ansel pointed out practically.

"I think it should be fine," Lucien said. "Let's go check out the Flanoir Ranch and see how badly it's buried."

It seemed colder outside the cave, and colder still on a Rheiard. _Good thing it's still daytime – I wouldn't want to be here at night! We'll have to make sure the heating systems of the base are redundant. Now it should be somewhere around here…hmm._ There it was: a series of snow banks that was just a little too regular to be natural. Guiding the small fleet down, the Renegades began to inspect the thirty-year-old ruins of cardinal Safera's human ranch.

"There's gotta be at least five feet of snow over everything here," someone moaned.

"It is closer to seven feet," said Polly, smiling, "but I believe Master Lucien has a solution for us?"

Lucien nodded. "First, anyone with Wind magic, start at the back and blow all the snow you can to the front. This way we'll be effectively building a snow barrier between us and the city – the last thing we want is for Tethe'alla to think the Desians are back. Once we've gotten as much snow removed as we can, anyone with Fire magic is going to melt the rest. I can show you some basic spell forms if you don't already know them…is anyone _not_ able to use either Wind or Fire magic?"

Rocky, the largest of the half-elves present, raised his hand. He was one of the only people, half-elf or not, who had ever been able to look Lucien directly in the eyes, but he was much more sturdily built. He often joked that he must really be half-ogre. "I'm only good with Earth magic, sir." He grinned sheepishly. "I'd be more than willing to shovel, though."

Lucien laughed. "Nah, that would be inefficient. Just start looking for concentrations of mana. You might be able to pinpoint interesting objects while we're clearing the snow. Oh, and keep an eye open for trouble."

Martel only knew what kind of trouble would bother a bunch of people excavating a ranch, but it never hurt to be careful. Lucien had read reports of giant worms that burrowed under the ice, crazy penguinoids, and everything in between. Just because the world was prospering now didn't mean they wouldn't awaken something strange with their magic, and it was always better to be safe than sorry. Like it or not, they were very exposed out here on the plains, and the last thing Lucien needed was some foolish youngster crying wolf to ruin their entire operation.

And it didn't help that he felt like he was being watched….


	5. New Clothes

Author's Note: Yea, and the evil midterm hath been slain. Expect more chapters coming out faster now that THAT mess is done with.

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"They really don't design these things for comfort, do they?" Julius asked rhetorically, drawing a chuckle from Botta.

"Not at all. Whoever designed them most likely thought that making the uniforms uncomfortable would be a good way to make Desians more irritable, and more likely to vent that irritation on human prisoners," Botta said, fitting the visor over his eyes. He didn't like the design – he preferred having his peripheral vision to the slight magical augmentation provided by the visors – but they were convenient for disguise. "There. How do I look?"

"Like a Desian," Julius sighed. "Don't forget, you get to wear that ridiculous crest, too."

"Who designed these things, anyway?" grumbled someone else from another part of the barracks room.

"_I_ did," said a smug, familiar voice from the doorway. "And if I hadn't, you wouldn't have nice face-concealing uniforms, so quit complaining."

Botta's retort died on his lips as he turned towards Yuan. Apparently, while the Renegades had been changing, he too had decided to wear something a little more…formal.

Gone was his usual cloak and armor. Instead, Yuan's official Seraph outfit was form-fitting and based in white. Swirling patterns of blue and purple that looked like they'd been painted on with a calligraphy brush formed abstract patterns over his arms and upper body – a teardrop motif here, an image of Yuan's double-bladed melee weapon there – and, when he swirled around, smirking, there was a giant lightning bolt on the cape he wore in place of his cloak. His hair was tied back into a full braid instead of his usual simple ponytail and, most interestingly, his collar was cut low enough that his Cruxis Crystal was plainly visible.

"Wow," said one of the women, which was just as well, since Botta had apparently lost the power of speech.

"If I'm making you all dress up, I may as well look the part, too," Yuan said, still smirking. "And to complete it," he murmured, then closed his eyes and brought out his wings.

If any of the Renegades had ever doubted that their passionate (yet sometimes flaky) leader was really one of Cruxis's Four Seraphim, Botta thought, this was _definitely_ a good way to convince them. Even in the very beginning, when Botta had nervously answered the summons of a Seraph he didn't know and unknowingly committed himself to his fate, Yuan had only worn his standard garb of a dark cloak and a few layers of armor, disguising himself as an ordinary mortal. Now he looked every inch the powerful being he truly was.

Finally regaining his voice, Botta said, "You certainly do look the part, sir. I do not think I would recognize you, if I did not know you as well as I do now."

"Good," Yuan said, undoubtedly basking in the stunned looks of his underlings. "Maybe it'll remind that idiot Pronyma that I outrank her, even if she _is_ the new leader of the Grand Cardinals."

"She _what?_" yelped Raul, who had, like Botta, formerly worked for the Desians. "But then, what happened to Lord Zircata?"

"Promotion," said Yuan drily. "One of the Brunels has died of old age, her Cruxis Crystal was offered up at the Iselia Temple, and Zircata's compatible, so he gets to become an angel. The plus side of this is, we get to deal with a large amount of confusion in the ranks and we don't have to worry about him noticing us. The downside, of course, is that _I_ have to deal with him in Welgaia every day from now until we succeed."

Botta and Yuan had had a long discussion about "compatibility" one time. For whatever reason, the Cruxis Crystals could transform a person into several different forms depending on their different mana signatures. Anybody who could use Light magic could be turned into an angelic being, but if a person's Dark mana was stronger than the Light mana, the crystal would twist their bodies into a form that was almost demonic. They would still gain the enhanced senses and strength, but Cruxis didn't want to associate itself with images of demons – they _were_ supposedly a holy organization. As for those few whose mana fields were in balance between Light and Darkness, it was largely a matter of channeling the proper type of energy at the proper time. And if someone didn't know whether they were aligned with Light or Darkness (like Botta, who had never bothered with either), there were some tests but they were, as Yuan put it, "uncomfortable".

Yuan began to walk around the room, inspecting their new uniforms. "I think you'll pass muster," he concluded. "But since there will be rather a lot of people wandering around in Desian uniforms, I've made those identifying marks we were talking about." He nodded to Gwen, recognizable by her long black braid, and handed her a little badge. "Will this work?"

She looked at the small item for a moment, turning it around in her hands while people close to her leaned over to see what it was. Then she smiled and affixed it to her uniform, showing it off as a purple lightning bolt badge set in a metallic blue circle. It looked vaguely like an Indignation spell might, if it were frozen in metal. "I like it," she said. "It's shiny."

_Trust Lord Yuan to come up with something shiny._ "I assume there are enough for everyone, sir?" Botta asked absentmindedly as he looked again at the abstract patterns in Yuan's outfit, trying to find symbols he would recognize.

"Of course," Yuan said, handing a small bag to Gwen who started to pass them out. "I've been compiling a list of the objects we'll need, where to find them, and what kind of clearance you'll need to access them. If you're going after anything highlighted in red, make sure you have either Botta or myself with you – he's got a file that will actually stand up under scrutiny, since he used to work for me officially. The rest of you have enough midlevel clearance to get the other items, but since I had to write them all in the past day they might be recognized as forgeries if someone bothers to check them thoroughly."

"Does that happen very often?" someone asked.

"Not really," Yuan reassured, "but it might. That's why anything that goes through Welgaia itself is marked in red – the angels are much more boring than the Desians, but also much more thorough. The rest of it is just in the lower levels, so it's guarded by automated systems or Desians. Make sure you check with Botta before getting something so that we don't end up with three sets of polycarbonate drills or anything ridiculous like that, and try not to get more than about four items each day so that we don't arouse suspicion."

"May I have a copy of the list, Lord—Seraph?" Botta asked, catching himself in time. It was going to be difficult not to call Yuan by his name….

"Oh, right, I suppose that would be useful," said Yuan, looking abashed. "Here you go. Anyone else have any questions?"

"What do we do if one of the Grand Cardinals starts interrogating us?" Julius piped up.

"Stick to the truth where you can, and lie through your teeth the rest of the time. You're lucky they're losing their most intimidating member—and if they start getting on your backs too much, let me know and I'll find something to distract them." Yuan grinned, looking vicious all of a sudden. _And the angel of Retribution rained down his divine vengeance upon the evildoers, and the Chosen was saved_, Botta found himself thinking.

When no other questions were asked, Yuan turned to leave. "I'll try to spend as much time with all of you as I can," he said quietly, "which should be easier than it usually is, but when I can't be here…be careful. I'd hate to lose any of you."

"Yes, sir!" the Renegades chorused, bringing another smile to Yuan's face.

Once Yuan had left, Botta turned to his small group of Desian-impersonators. "All right," he said. "Let's get to work."


	6. Old Friends

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing. No, there isn't a fanart of Yuan's outfit. Yes, by all means, feel free to draw it (but only if you give me a link)!

* * *

Even his usual stack of paperwork seemed to disappear faster than usual, Yuan reflected to himself. That was just as well – he still had some intense system hacking to do before the identification papers of the Renegades would pass muster. Of course, being one of the Seraphim had its advantages, like unbarred access to the entire computer network. Kratos or Mithos might be able to trace what he was doing, except that Yuan was far more skilled than either of them. It was one of his few outright advantages in dealing with those two – Mithos's Summons or Kratos's swordplay could make fast work of him in battle, and he didn't have the single-mindedness either of them did, but for some reason his mind could analyze data infrastructures and instantly spot weaknesses in them. Yuan supposed that was because he'd studied magic a lot more than his companions. Magic and technology were fundamentally similar, after all: patterns were patterns, no matter how they were formed.

Although, Yuan reflected, he _did_ have to watch his temper or risk frying a processor. _Or I could do a calculated surge and wipe out the entire system if we ever need a big distraction._ He grinned. That could be fun. _But not just yet. Best go a while without drawing suspicion._

A few hours later, while still deeply absorbed in the inner workings of the system, a discreet cough made him jump out of his chair. "Who's there?" he yelled, startled.

"You say that as if anyone else has access to your office," said a familiar voice.

"Oh, right," Yuan said, telling his body to calm down, he didn't _need_ all that adrenaline. "Hi, Kratos."

"Heh," Kratos said. "I'm here to remind you about the ascension ceremony, though it would appear that you're already dressed for it." He raised an eyebrow.

It was true that Yuan didn't wear his formal Seraph outfit often, though it _did_ fit very nicely. But ever since that poisoned blade had ended Martel's life (which is to say, for most of his own life), Yuan had gained comfort from the weight of plate armor. He _knew_ the synthetic material these outfits were made from was proof against almost anything and that only the most powerful attacks could do any damage to his angelic form, but there was something about actual armor that set his mind at ease.

"It's partly to show off and partly to acclimate myself," he explained in response to Kratos's unasked question. "And no, I haven't forgotten about the ceremony. Did we decide if it was going to be public or private?" Private meant that only himself, Kratos, and Mithos would have to be in attendance, which they often did when there was a higher than normal chance of failure.

Kratos shrugged. "Zircata is insisting it be public so that his son can attend."

Yuan muttered a curse under his breath. "Right, I'd forgotten about the brat." Yuan normally liked kids – he really did – but anyone with two Grand Cardinals as parents did _not_ have much of a chance to turn out all right, personality-wise. It didn't help that Yuan was at least partially responsible for his mother's death, either – though it hadn't exactly been his idea to blow up Safera's ranch. _We're the ones who teach the Chosen that the Desians are Bad Guys, so it shouldn't have surprised anyone that Umbran wanted to get rid of that place. It's not my fault that she didn't evacuate when we gave her the chance._

"He's fifty years old," Kratos reminded Yuan.

"He's still a brat," Yuan said waspishly, which drew a chuckle. "I suppose the other Cardinals will be there as well, then. You do realize that this promotion only leaves us with three out of five?"

Kratos nodded. "Pronyma's been trying to talk Lord Yggdrasill into choosing both of the new ones from her legion, but surely even he realizes how bad of an idea that would be."

Yuan snickered. "I'm sure Zircata's legion would _love_ that. We'd have riots on our hands, and that would just mean a lot of waste – wasted time, wasted effort, wasted lives. No, we'll have to convince him that he can't possibly follow Pronyma's advice." Which meant more time he'd have to spend away from his Renegades. Yuan sighed.

"It's not that bad," Kratos said, mistaking Yuan's sigh of frustration at wasted time for a sigh of frustration at Mithos and Pronyma. _Though, come to think of it, it amounts to the same thing._ "He does listen to us, Yuan."

_Not about anything that matters. Not about Martel._ If Mithos really listened to Yuan, he wouldn't have had to form the Renegades in the first place, but Yuan knew that Kratos still supported their leader. _I wish I could tell you, old friend. I wish you could join us, and together we'd make a new world that Martel could be proud of._ "I hope you're right, Kratos."

Now it was Kratos's turn to sigh. "I didn't mean to make you depressed. I'm sorry."

"It'll pass," Yuan said, shrugging it off. "I've got plenty of things to distract me."

"Oh?" asked Kratos, moving over to look at Yuan's terminal screen. "What are you working on now?"

"Restructuring security," he said proudly. Kratos raised an eyebrow. "Well, think about it. If we'd had to move all the Desians into the Tower before the last journey of world regeneration, there would have been more users than the system was built to handle. Sure, the brat blames me for destroying his mother's ranch, but the Desians from Safera and Nuitis's ranches would have put over a thousand people into the system after we cleared them from the surface. The system's only built to handle a thousand at a time, so I'm going in and changing it so that we can handle ten thousand users at a time."

Kratos blinked. "Do you really think we'll have _ten thousand_ people trying to access the security system at a time in the future?"

"No," Yuan answered cheerfully, "but the number of angels _is_ growing steadily and the number of Desians fluctuates so much that this will at least give us a nice safe buffer zone to work with." Plus it would throw the system off while the Renegades were gathering materials and allow him to add and delete new users whenever he wanted to.

Kratos made an annoyed face at Yuan. "So. I assume this means I'm going to have to memorize another set of security codes?"

Yuan grinned. "Just for you, I'll make sure yours are exactly the same, only with a zero in the front. But if, say, Pronyma's access codes happen to change completely, I won't be shedding any tears."

Kratos just shook his head. "I don't understand what it is you have against her, Yuan."

Yuan scowled. "She shouldn't blame me for doing my job. It's my responsibility to see that the world regeneration occurs; it's my responsibility to bring important problems to Lord Yggdrasill; it's my responsibility to see that the Desians don't kill each other. If she has a problem with any of those things occurring, she should take it out on Mithos, not on me."

"And I suppose we both know how likely that is," said Kratos. "Just watch your back around her, old friend. I would hate to have to pull you out of another mess."

"I'll cover you if you cover me," Yuan said, grinning. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

Kratos smiled his rare smile. "Then I shall let you get back to it. I'll see you at the ceremony in two days, if not before." They waved to each other, and Kratos shut the door behind him as he left.


	7. Spies

Author's Note: Sorry this is late, midterms suck, yadda yadda. Also, alerts haven't been showing up in my email for some reason. I'll try to respond to the reviews manually, but if it takes me a while, I'm sorry.

* * *

Lucien growled to himself. This was the third time in as many days that he'd found an extra set of footprints mixed in with his own, and it was starting to bug him. Was someone spying on them? If so, how come he couldn't sense that person's mana? Lucien was the first to admit that he wasn't very observant about people and tended to get absorbed in his work easily, but even if he couldn't see this spy, he should have been able to pinpoint them by their mana signature. Yet every time he concentrated, all he could "see" were the trails of his own team and some distant flares in Flanoir.

Still, except for that minor annoyance, they were making good progress. They'd found several nearly intact security devices, plenty of lighting fixtures that only needed to be connected up to a power source and, to Lucien's delight, a fully operational computer terminal. He hadn't seen one of those since he'd left Cruxis, and it took all of his willpower to leave it alone and get back to work. Oh, he was looking forward to developing a network (with Yuan's help, of course)….

It would just make him feel better to know that this spy wasn't a figment of his own imagination.

"Okay guys, let's stop here for now," he called out. "It's starting to get dark." It wasn't yet evening, but storm clouds were hovering ominously overhead and blocking the light.

"We do not wish to be caught in this storm," Polly agreed as she joined him in the central area of the ruins.

"With any luck, it won't cover up too much of what we just dug out," Lucien mused. "In the meantime, we can check that maintenance passageway under the Tower of Salvation where Yuan said he'd direct the others to leave their materials."

"Sounds good to me," said Rocky. "Where'd Ansel go?"

"He is standing lookout. He probably did not hear Master Lucien," Polly said.

"Let's pack up what we've found and then grab him," decided Lucien. The other five Renegades were riding on normal Rheiards, but Lucien had modified his own, adding a large piece of netting on the underside to carry the magitechnology they needed. It threw off the balance, but he was more than good enough as a pilot to compensate for it. He had to recharge it more often because of the strain of the added weight, but it was still better than carrying the stuff on foot and boat.

It didn't take long to secure the few useful items they'd found so far and locate Ansel. He was standing on top of the snow berm they'd formed to block the ruins from view, leaning on his staff and scanning the tundra plains for signs of trouble. "See anything from up there?" Lucien called to him.

"Nothing unusual, sir, except a splendid view of this approaching storm," replied Ansel.

"We're going to move out before we're caught in it. Looks like it's going to be pretty nasty, and I'd rather not be here in the middle of it."

"Good idea, sir." Ansel began climbing down the slope, sinking up to his ankles in the snow. It was packed pretty tight, but the wind was always playing with the top layer of the snow, making the Renegades glad they'd invested in high-quality Flanoir boots.

Once they were in the air, Lucien directed them to the Tower of Salvation. He always felt nervous going near there, even though he'd been "officially dead" for forty years. He _knew_ that if Cruxis ever learned about his existence, Yuan would defend him from the ones who wanted to use him for their power games and he _knew_ that even if someone saw him, he'd changed enough since he was fourteen that they wouldn't recognize him anyway…but there was a difference between knowing something in the head and knowing it in the heart, and Lucien still had nightmares about silent corridors looking out over the stars.

Fortunately, the rendezvous point was set firmly in the solid ground. First he showed the others how to get into the maintenance tunnels, then started poking around at the first large cave area. There were a few vending machines there, but Lucien remembered those from his last visit. Those cylindrical containers were new, though.

"Okay," he said. "We'll leave those machines unless we specifically get permission to lift them, but these containers are for us."

Rocky nodded and lifted a few. "They're heavy. I wonder what's in 'em?"

"Beats me," Lucien said cheerfully.

Rica was curiously poking at one of the machines, and Lucien hid a grin as he watched her. It had surprised him to learn that very few people in Tethe'alla knew anything about magitechnology, even though he'd known that they didn't have much of it outside the human ranches. To him, machines were a perfectly ordinary part of life. To anyone from the recently-declining Tethe'alla, they were fascinating and strange objects hinted at in legends of the distant past.

"I just place the money here?" she asked hesitantly. Lucien nodded, so she did and gasped when it gave her the advertised Apple Gel. "But how does it keep all those items all the time?" she asked, examining the gel carefully. "It still seems fresh."

"They're kept in a stasis field inside the machine and automatically replenished every so often by patrolling machines," Lucien explained. "That's why we're not taking them with us – the patrolling machines would notice and report it. We should be able to make our own, though, if Lord Yuan can get us some diagrams."

"It looks awfully complicated," Rica said shyly.

"Master Lucien does not seem to have a problem with complicated technology," Polly said, smiling at him.

Lucien suddenly felt embarrassed. "It's just that I was raised that way," he replied. "I couldn't tell the difference between a Sybak accent and an Altamira accent if my life depended on it, so you've got me there."

Rica, who was from Sybak, giggled. "I see. Well, in that case, I could…teach you how to tell where people are from if you let me help when you're ready to build one of those machines."

Lucien beamed a smile at her. "It's a deal! Now, let's get this stuff back to the base so we can keep an eye on that storm. I want to be able to clear the fresh snow as soon as possible so it doesn't undo all our hard work."

"Yes, sir!" they chorused and followed Lucien out. He was just as happy to turn his back on the Tower and return to the little island, but he had another motive in wanting to get back to the ranch immediately after the snowfall.

_If I plan it right, I can catch whoever's making those tracks while the snow's still fresh…._


	8. Candidates

Author's Note: And the plot thickens...Muahaha. I had to cut this one off early cause it was getting too long, but the next chapter will pick up right where this one lets off. Oh, and it seems like alerts are back to normal...yays!

* * *

Botta was busy grabbing some tasteless food from the officers' commons when he heard some other crest-wearing Desians discussing something he was interested in finding out – Lady Pronyma's favorites who were in what most people considered to be the prime position for promotion to the rank of Grand Cardinal. Instead of heading back to the barracks, he decided to sit behind them and covertly listen in on their conversation. 

"She's not _seriously_ considering Jacob, is she?" said one of them, sounding exasperated. "He's charismatic enough, perhaps, but he thinks entirely too much of himself. I'm sorry, but nobody is going to follow someone who thinks they're Martel's own gift to the world."

"Lord Zircata thinks very highly of himself, and he's the best leader we've had," pointed out the other one.

"Yes, but he has the skills to back it up. For all Jacob's posturing, he could never match Lord Jomark in a fight or Lord Nuitis in a game of wits. Lord Zircata can play the game and he can play it well."

The other one shrugged. "And who would you rather see in the position? Lord Zircata's son?"

"Kvar's more than ready to lead his mother's legion," the first one said defensively. "He's been doing so in all but name since he was practically a child, anyway. They're used to him and he's used to them, and if anyone from his father's troops wants to avoid whoever Lady Pronyma gets into the other position wants to join Kvar instead, well, they'll have the chance."

"That's true," the second one admitted. "But you don't have a problem with Lady Pronyma's second choice, then?"

There was a pause. "At least if he were promoted, it would be based on his leadership skills and not his abilities as a boy-toy. I'd rather work under Magnius than Jacob in any case."

Botta choked on his tasteless glop. _Magnius? Isn't that…?_

He hurriedly finished his meal and made his way back to the barracks, trying to walk at a sedate pace so as not to stand out. _I hope Lord Yuan knows about this,_ he thought nervously. Entering his security code on the door to the barracks, Botta was relieved to see only a few people there and a noticeable red head of hair among them.

"Julius," he called out. "May I speak with you privately?"

The fire mage, who was about Botta's age, finished packing some carefully wrapped components into a cylindrical container. "Of course, sir. Just a moment."

Botta nodded and started pacing back and forth, a nervous habit he tried not to indulge in very often. When Julius joined him, Botta said quietly, "I overheard some officers discussing the candidates for the new Cardinals."

Julius nodded. They'd been trying to discover this information ever since Yuan warned them that the positions were open.

"Though he is not in a favored position, I would like you to know that your brother is being seriously considered," Botta said after a slight pause.

Julius closed his eyes and swore softly. "_Magnius_ might be the next Grand Cardinal?"

"He is not Pronyma's first choice, I know that much, but the possibility is there." Botta chose his next words carefully. "Lord Yuan may be able to influence the decision one way or another. I need you to decide how you will advise him in this matter."

Julius opened his mouth, and then closed it again quickly. "You mean, if it might be a better idea to have someone we know in that position," he said slowly. "I haven't seen him since we were children – but there are some things about people that don't change." He bit his lip. "My _brother_ might be a Grand Cardinal of the Desians. I'm going to have to think about this, Lord Botta."

Botta nodded. He was relieved that Julius was taking this as well as he was. "Of course. But you see now why I had to tell you."

"Thank you, sir. I do appreciate it." Almost as an afterthought, he asked, "Who are the others you heard about?"

"Someone named Jacob who doesn't seem to be popular with the men and Zircata's son Kvar." They'd all heard a bit about Kvar. His mother had been the devious Safera of the Flanoir Ranch and his father was the leader of the Grand Cardinals. Yuan had warned them about crossing him: raised in the channels of power, Kvar was unpredictable and compassionless.

"Jacob?" Julius asked, curious.

Botta shrugged. "One of Pronyma's favorites, or so I gather. Perhaps Lord Yuan will know more."

"Magnius," Julius said quietly, frowning. "I…I will let you know my thoughts once I've gathered them, Lord Botta."

"Thank you, Julius." Botta nodded permission to him to leave and the other man did so gratefully. _There are times when I'm glad to be an only child_, Botta thought to himself. _I'd better tell Yuan about this, though._

Botta always felt uncomfortable going to Welgaia alone, but most of the others were gone on supply runs and he certainly didn't want to disturb Julius so he supposed he would have to go alone. "_Whenever I'm not with you or in a meeting,"_ Yuan had said, "_I'll be in my office so you can find me."_ Botta hoped he wasn't in a meeting.

Smiling grimly to himself as he walked down the corridors of Welgaia, Botta reflected on the meaning of the word "timelessness". Nothing had changed here in the thirty years since he'd visited these corridors every day as part of his job as assistant to Yuan. It was one thing to say that about a place like Exire, home of the long-lived, but even there people changed or moved on or at least pretended to be involved in some kind of day-to-day activity, whether it was studying magic or something as simple as gardening (Botta's own personal hobby). Here, the angels held quiet conversations about the fate of the world or the current course of action that would have the best benefit to themselves, dismissing humans as inferior beings, but there was never any laughter or fighting. Then again, he'd gotten his fill of fighting from the Desian quarters, so perhaps everything had its place, after all.

Finally he found Yuan's office. It looked, from the outside, exactly like every other office on this level of the city, but Botta knew the insides were likely to be a chaotic mess. Yuan hated cleaning when he was busy, and he'd definitely been busy lately. Smiling genuinely this time, he pushed the intercom button.

"Is the Seraph in office?" he asked.

"Yes, of course I am," said the speaker in Yuan's voice. "Come in."

As soon as the doors shut behind him, Botta took off his helmet. Yuan was grinning at him from his desk, still wearing the mesmerizing Seraph's outfit he'd donned when the Renegades started dressing like Desians. "That sounded like you," Yuan said. "How is everything going?"

"It goes well, for the most part. I discovered the names of three of the candidates for the Grand Cardinal position today, sir."

"Oh really?" Yuan asked, sounding interested. "I've been wondering who Pronyma's favorites are."

"You already knew about Kvar then," Botta temporized.

Yuan scowled. "Yes, well, as much as I dislike the brat, he _is_ in a good position. Anyone can see Zircata favors the boy, almost as much as he favors his father."

Botta chuckled. He had only seen Zircata a few times, but if Kvar looked like his father, Botta felt a little sorry for him. "The two that Pronyma has been considering are someone named Jacob"—Yuan nodded—"and, ah, Magnius."

Yuan muttered something under his breath. "It's never easy, is it?" he asked the air. "Have you told Julius yet?"

"Yes, sir. He said he would consider the problem carefully before sharing his thoughts with us." _Hopefully he will get it sorted out before they're actually chosen._ "Jacob is said to be favored by Pronyma, but Magnius is more popular with the legion."

Yuan was nodding. "I would expect as much. Jacob Zegna is a charming little ingrate, but not good for much else. If he weren't as self-centered, he would realize that there is a lot to be gained by turning that charm on the masses instead of the few in power, but if Pronyma favors him…." He trailed off. "It might serve our purposes better to have the incompetent one in power, you know."

Yuan's further musings were interrupted by the buzz of the intercom. "_Lord_ Yuan," a sarcastic, female voice said, "would you open this door?"

"Speak of the devil," Yuan murmured. "Botta, put your helmet on and do your best to act like a potted plant," he ordered.

Choking back laughter, Botta did as he was told. Yuan did indeed have some rather large plants in his office, and Botta concealed himself behind one as Yuan opened the door for the next leader of the Grand Cardinals.

Pronyma strode purposefully into the room, her long skirts swishing back and forth in a way that reminded Botta, oddly enough, of kelp swaying back and forth in the ocean. She looked very angry and, somewhat to Botta's confusion, very familiar. _But I've never seen her before_, he thought, furrowing his brow. _Why does she look familiar?_

"And to what do I owe the dubious honor of _your_ presence?" Yuan asked, not looking up from his paperwork.

"Surely even _you_ haven't forgotten Lord Zircata's ceremony tomorrow?" Pronyma inquired archly.

"I fail to see why that necessitates a visit from you," Yuan said, finally looking up. Despite the tone of his words, he didn't look angry. Instead his face was carefully neutral. Botta knew this was a bad sign.

Pronyma approached his desk and smiled sweetly. "Just that this means _I_ am only one step away from taking away your precious position," she crooned.

Yuan actually laughed at her. "_You_ think you could be one of the Four Seraphim? Oh, _do_ try. I'd love to see your form twisted to reflect the monster you are."

Pronyma's eyes flashed. "I would not be so coy if I were you," she said coldly. "Lord Yggdrasill listens to _me_, and _I_ think your time here is limited, Yuan."

Yuan looked down at his paperwork again, writing and seeming to ignore her. "Yet I produce results, and all I have seen from you are disastrous failures, Pronyma." She looked outraged, but before she could say anything, Yuan moved faster than Botta could see and struck her with a bolt of energy. She cried out as Yuan stood up, releasing his wings. "And you _will_ address me by my proper title," he growled. "Regardless of what the future may bring, the truth is that _I_ am your superior now, and failure to show respect to me means punishment." He drew back his hand again, gathering Lightning energy around it in warning. "Now leave my presence before you anger me further."

With one venomous glance back at him, she did.


	9. Bonus Mission

Author's Note: And we're back from your regularly scheduled Spring Break. Sorry I forgot to warn you guys I'd be gone all week. Updates should be regular from here on out.

* * *

Yuan closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, trying to rid himself of the tension he always felt in Pronyma's presence. Objectively, he attributed her dislike of him to a mixture of jealousy, ambition, and blame for something that wasn't entirely Yuan's fault. He did take some responsibility, of course, but he didn't deserve the entirely of her hatred. It had been at least as much her fault and Mithos's, but the sky would fall before she would admit to that. Subjectively, he just plain didn't like her.

"All right, I'm better," he said, eyes still closed. "You can come out now, Botta."

"'Disastrous failures'?" inquired his second-in-command.

Yuan winced. Why was Botta so good at cutting right to the heart of the problem? "A certain project of hers that produced less-than-satisfactory results. The details aren't something I'm at liberty to reveal." He hesitated a moment before meeting Botta's eyes. _Well, why not? He's discreet enough._ "It has to do with how I met you in the first place, actually. Remember how I said I was in the bad graces of the Grand Cardinals after the last Regeneration?" Botta nodded. "If you really pay attention to Pronyma's actions," Yuan said slowly, "you should be able to figure out the gist of it, but it's not my secret alone to tell." And that was going to have to do. If Pronyma even guessed that Yuan had had a hand in that project's failure, it could mean his life—brave words notwithstanding, he was under no illusions about his own ability to survive Mithos's direct wrath. _Besides, my life is not the only one at stake here._ "And for the love of Martel," he added softly, "when you _do_ figure it out, _do not tell anyone _what you realize until we are out of here. Not even me."

Botta looked startled, but nodded cautiously. "You want me to figure out this secret, but keep it a secret?" he said curiously.

Yuan nodded in confirmation. "Think of it as a mission in spying," he said, regaining a bit of humor. "I'm certain we'll have to know information like this if we're to disrupt the actions of the Desians as they're taking place. I have every confidence in your observational skills, Botta."

Botta blushed ever so slightly at the compliment, making Yuan smile a little. It was refreshing to be around honest people, one of the reasons Yuan preferred to spend time with his Renegades over anyone from Cruxis. The only Cruxis member he'd never once felt threatened by was Kratos, and there were precious few duties that required the two Seraphim to work together. Yuan was always watching his own back, but he really felt like he didn't need to around troops that he knew were loyal to _him_ and not Mithos or Zircata or Pronyma or any of the angels he'd had to work with over the years. Yuan knew that the Renegades would be much larger if he didn't need to hand-pick every one of them, but it was, in his estimation, worth every bit of effort he expended to have that feeling of trust.

"Yes, sir," Botta was saying. Yuan brought his mind back to the present and paid attention to him. "As to the matter we were discussing earlier, how much time shall I tell Julius he has to make a decision?"

"Right," Yuan said briskly. "I imagine we'll name both of the new Cardinals after the ascension ceremony has passed, but we haven't had a meeting about it yet." He glanced at the timepiece that usually hid behind his computer monitor. For convenience, the Tower of Salvation kept time with the oracular town of the declining world – sometimes Meltokio, sometimes Iselia – in order to better coordinate efforts between the Desians and their masters. It was only now heading towards evening in Iselia, so they still had eighteen hours or so until the ceremony would begin. Running a few mental calculations, he said to Botta, "I think I'd like to know before tomorrow evening. If Julius can't come up with anything before then, I'll just have to use my own judgment."

"Yes, sir," Botta said, nodding. He paused, frowning. Yuan guessed he was deciding whether or not to ask a potentially volatile question. "Sir," Botta said, "I could not help but notice that Pronyma seemed familiar, yet I do not recall ever having seen her in person before."

_Yep, that counts as volatile._ "I knew you were sharp," he muttered. "That would be part of the secret mission I just assigned to you." He checked himself. "Although, you could just be seeing a familial resemblance – she's related to the Wilder clan on the human side. It's distant, but definitely there."

Botta's eyes widened and Yuan could almost see the gears churning in his head. "I see. I shall pay very close attention to her, then."

"I expect no less," Yuan said. _Ah, competence. It's good to be around people who can think for themselves instead of just blindly following orders._ Yes, it would be important for his underlings to blindly follow orders at times, but Yuan had always found that people did a better job when they understood _why_ they were doing it in the first place. He smiled at Botta. "Now go and try to finish gathering those supplies we need. The other team's been doing a good job of picking them up, and the sooner we get finished here, the sooner we can leave."

Botta nodded again, frowning. "I do not like it here," he agreed quietly.

"No," Yuan said wistfully, "there really aren't many who do. I'd be just as happy never to have to bring any of you here ever again. It's boring and stressful at the same time. I've always wanted an office on the surface – I've been complaining to Kratos about it for, well, far longer than you've been alive."

Botta was looking at him strangely, but said nothing. He looked like he wanted to say something important, but he just bowed to Yuan and murmured a few words about completing his assignment. He turned to leave, but Yuan, not wanting his friend to leave on a down note, called out to him. "Mind if I go with you? I don't think I'll be able to concentrate on my work here for a while."

To Yuan's relief, Botta smiled. "I would be glad to have your company, sir, and I am sure the others will feel the same way."

"Good," Yuan said, placing a hand on his desk and vaulting over it with a quick jump. "I've still got a few hours before anyone is expecting me for anything. Let's see what we can do until then." He adopted a scowling expression. "Now, act like a Desian escort and let's see if we can appropriate some blueprints."

Botta saluted and opened the doors, leading the way.


	10. Capture

Author's Note: Woot, ten chapters! I think this one will end up being about 16, but we'll see. Enjoy!!

* * *

Before landing at the site of Safera's ranch, Lucien called the others to a halt and started working a complex Fire/Earth spell from the air. Casting while flying was a tricky business in the first place, but the Rheiards could hover pretty well without any guidance. A moment of concentration was all it took, though, and a fine black dust fell over the snow-covered ruins, coating everything with a fine black powder.

"Now!" he yelled, leading the small fleet of bird-like crafts down for a landing in the center of the ruins. Spreading out, they quickly scanned the ruins, until finally there was some commotion.

"Sir, I've found someone—ow, stop that!"

"Excellent job, Rocky," called out Lucien, hurrying over to where his subordinate was standing. He stifled a grin as he took in the scene – the large Renegade was holding a slightly dust-covered but otherwise perfectly white form, which was struggling against his grip and attempting to poke him with a strangely-shaped knife.

"Quit struggling, you," ordered Lucien, drawing himself up to his impressively tall height. "We aren't going to hurt you _if_ you can explain to my satisfaction just why you've been spying on us." He frowned. "And why I can't see your mana signature – you _are_ human, aren't you?" It looked human, but it was hard to tell.

The figure relaxed and reached a hand up to its head, pulling back a cloth sash to reveal that it was, indeed, humanoid in appearance. "I'm human," it – _he_ – said. "You're…not."

"We are not," agreed Polly solemnly, who was now gathered with the others in a circle around Rocky and the prisoner.

"We're half-elves, but not Desians," Lucien said, watching the man for a reaction. He wasn't disappointed. The man's coal-black eyes opened wide and he nodded once.

"I thought that might be the case, but I wasn't sure. Mind letting go of me so I can introduce myself?" Lucien nodded at Rocky, preparing himself to spring at the man if necessary.

It wasn't necessary. The man landed gracefully on his feet and dropped into an elegant bow. "Arashi Yuki," he said. It took Lucien a moment to recognize that as a name. "We've been monitoring the ranches in case the Desians should return."

"'_We_?'" asked Lucien archly.

To his surprise, it was Ansel who answered. "Mizuho," he said wondrously, exchanging a glance with Polly. "So the legendary village does exist."

Excited murmuring from the Renegades masked Lucien's confusion. _Legendary village? It must be a Tethe'allan thing, because I've never heard of it._

"Yes," Arashi confirmed, "I am from Mizuho, and if you are as you say – that is, half-elves who are not allied with the Desians – then our chief would like to meet with you." He bowed again. "I apologize for concealing myself, but it is our custom to gather information before acting."

"That's reasonable," Lucien admitted. "And we're most certainly _not_ friends of the Desians." He scowled. "Though, I'm surprised you haven't met up with the citizens of Exire, if all you're looking for are neutral half-elves."

"He does not have the means to fly, Master Lucien," Polly reminded him gently.

Lucien blushed. Of course he couldn't fly. Humans didn't use complex Wind magic and Tethe'alla didn't have much in the way of magitechnology, so there was really no way he could have made it to Exire. "Sorry, I forgot. But I think it would be a good idea to meet with this chief of yours." He paused for a moment. "It would have to be in a neutral area, though. I'm not about to reveal the location of our base."

He saw the other Renegades nodding. "How about Altamira?" suggested Ansel. "You can get a ship to anywhere from there, so it won't give away the location of _your_ village, which I understand is also something you'd prefer to keep hidden."

"That's right," Arashi said, standing up proudly. "We keep the location of our village a secret in order to preserve our culture."

"When I was young, it was said to be in the Fooji Mountains," Polly smiled.

Arashi gaped at her. "It hasn't been there for centuries!"

"It has been centuries since I was young," she replied gravely.

Lucien grinned. "Altamira sounds good to me. Will it work for you? How long will you need for travel time? If you want, we can drop you off somewhere so you don't have to wait for a steamliner from Flanoir."

"I am curious as to how those things work," Arashi admitted, nodding at a Rheiard. "Could you drop me off at, say, Sybak? From there I should be able to meet with you in Altamira in ten days."

Rica giggled. Lucien knew that you could get boats to _everywhere _from Sybak. A ten-day travel time from Sybak meant the village could be located almost anywhere. "I think we can do that. If you'd like, I can give you a ride on my Rheiard – it's modified to carry extra weight anyway."

"Are you certain we can trust him, sir?" broke in Miguel. He was a dark-haired, quiet young man who'd been tossed out of Meltokio some years ago. He didn't like humans, Lucien recalled, but he blamed the Desians for giving half-elves a bad reputation.

Lucien considered the question and the spy. "I don't like that you were watching us without declaring yourself," he said slowly. "And I don't like that we had to trick you to meet you. But if it's true what you say – that you're looking for half-elves who aren't Desians – then you must have a reason to do so. It's not about magic, because you could just ask the elves about magic." He narrowed his eyes, but Arashi met them without any trouble. "If I had to make a guess, I'd say you know a half-elf who's curious about the rest of us."

"That," said the man from Mizuho, "is a very good guess. And I can sympathize with you for not trusting us. We're used to people not trusting us because we're different."

Lucien grinned, and he knew he wasn't the only one. "Oh yes, I think I know what you mean." People _never_ trusted half-elves, not without knowing them for a long time. "But Miguel does have a point. We'll meet you in Altamira, but I won't risk any more of my people than necessary. Expect me and one other person. In fact, if the others are done with their work by then, I may be able to introduce you to one of our leaders – _after_ we secure the meeting area."

Arashi nodded. "That's fair enough." He frowned. "I thought you were the leader."

"He is the leader of this group," Ansel pointed out. "The others are infiltrating an enemy location, including our true leader."

"Interesting," Arashi said. "Infiltration is one of the things we do best in Mizuho. We pride ourselves on our information network." He gestured to his snow-white outfit. "It's easy enough to blend in anywhere if you try hard enough. Everything else is just tricks of the trade."

"I know we'd be interested in trading some tricks, then," Lucien mused. "I have to wonder how much you know about magitechnology and how to harness your own mana." Humans could use magic, but it was much harder than it was for elves or half-elves. There were ways to learn, though, and Lucien was curious enough about all forms of magic to have studied them.

"We know some," Arashi said, challenge in his voice. "It might even be different from what you know."

"I'm looking forward to comparing notes," Lucien said, grinning. He motioned to the others to get on their Rheiards. "Come on, let's see if we can make the ride to Sybak before nightfall."

The others nodded and began to move out.


	11. Out of the Frying Pan

Author's Note: Hi everybody! Look, I broke the pattern and now you have a new POV character. Scary. Let me know what ya think. :D

* * *

It was exactly twenty paces from one end of the corridor to the other. Timing his steps perfectly, he could see a patrolling Cybit every fourth time he reached the far end. Far off, he could hear the beeps and hums from the machines that kept the Tower of Salvation running and, beyond that, the silence of the stars that seemed to lie behind everything in its cold glory.

Julius hated the cold.

Sarcastic comments from young Lucien aside, it wasn't a matter of elemental affinity for fire that made him hate the cold. Cold meant winter and winter meant sleeping in the streets again and _that_ meant catching pneumonia like his mother and dying, leaving her children alone in a world that hated them. Cold meant the looks from the well-to-do of Syback and Ozette, too caught up in their own problems to let a half-elf try and look after his only brother so they wouldn't be forced into thievery just to survive. Cold meant the waters of Ymir Forest when the village of Heimdall was blocked off to those of "mixed blood" and a father who wouldn't acknowledge his own half-breed children.

Cold meant the eyes of a man barely out of childhood seduced by promises of an Age of Half-Elves and slaughtering a human caravan, laughing as they burned.

_And now they want that child to lead them!_ Never mind that it had been nearly a hundred years since then. Magnius was still his little brother. You were supposed to look after your little brother. _That's why older brothers are born first: to look after the little ones. Not to let them turn into sadistic jerks who hate humans._

Because if they hated people just for being human, how did that make them any different from the humans who hated _them_ just because they were half-elves?

Julius didn't hate humans. He'd known good humans, just as he'd known evil half-elves. He'd known humans just as poor as he had been, once, who had given what they couldn't afford to help people out. Sure, he felt disgust with human society often enough, but that didn't mean he wanted to kill them all. Did Magnius really think that eliminating humans would solve the world's problems?

He couldn't know without speaking to Magnius in person, but Julius was reluctant. Not afraid that he would give away Lord Yuan and the other Renegades, not that, but afraid that his brother _hadn't_ changed, or, worse, that Magnius had lost whatever shards of kindness and, well, _humanity_ that had been left to him.

Julius sighed. On the other hand, if he _didn't_ go speak to Magnius soon, he probably wouldn't get another chance. _It takes a rare person to see a painful truth and accept it for what it is_, Yuan had said, _and a brave person to accept the truth and try to change it_. It was his responsibility, now, to see if his brother would really take a commanding position in the ranks of the Grand Cardinals.

His mind now made up, Julius stopped pacing and headed for the nearest transporter. Though it was very late at night (or early morning, depending on where you were coming from), he knew where Magnius would be if he was awake. And if he wasn't, well, that was why Lord Yuan had given them all high-level security access codes, wasn't it?

His first guess proved to be correct, however. Magnius was in one of the solitary training rooms. Julius watched silently from behind one of the clear glasslike windows for a few moments as he gathered his courage. Magnius had bulked up considerably over the years and he had a new scar across the bridge of his nose, but his hair was that familiar, impossible shade of red that Julius shared. He was making some dangerous-looking maneuvers with a large axe and Julius smiled in spite of himself, watching the power and grace of the form. He'd never been good with weapons himself, but Magnius had a special gift for combat.

Julius took a deep breath and approached the door to the training room. To his mild surprise, it was unlocked. Magnius nodded tersely to acknowledge the sound and finished his sweeping motion, bringing the giant axe to rest on the ground and leaning on it as one might lean on a desk. "Can I help you?" he said, eyebrows rising.

Belatedly, Julius realized he was still wearing the face-concealing Desian helmet. Thinking quickly, he decided to use this to his advantage. "Excuse me, sir, but I heard a rumor that you might be taking over Lady Pronyma's legion."

Magnius barked a short laugh. "It's not bloody likely. Lady Pronyma will be taking over the First Legion as commander of the Grand Cardinals, and damned if I'm going to let her into that snake's nest alone. Let Jacob take over the Fourth Legion. They'll tear him apart, sure enough, but by that time Lady Pronyma will be secure in her own position." He grinned, looking truly ferocious with that new scar. "And _then_ we shall see if I become one of the Grand Cardinals."

Julius nodded. "Glad to hear it, sir. We were…concerned that the rank might not go to the right man." _Though I'm not entirely certain you're the right man, in any case. _He was actually relieved to hear a tone of genuine concern when Magnius spoke about Pronyma – perhaps his brother hadn't lost all compassion.

"No need to worry, soldier. It's all mostly ceremonial until we're allowed to go down into the declining world and let loose on those vermin that are keeping us from claiming the world as our own."

_Ah, so that's how it is._ Sighing inwardly, Julius did his best to imitate an irritated sniff. "True enough. I've been reassigned three times already." Well, he hadn't – he would have to really be a Desian to be ordered around like that – but he'd overheard someone complaining about how they had.

Looking intensely at Julius as if he could see right through the visor, Magnius said, "When I become a commander in my own right, request to be transferred to my legion. I could easily find a use for someone who knows where his _true_ loyalties lie."

Julius barely caught himself in time to prevent himself from shaking his head. _My true loyalties lie with the ones you despise, _brother_. Lord Yuan understand that – why can't you?_ Instead, he bowed formally. "As you say, Lord Magnius." He couldn't help the little bit of bitterness that crept into his tone, but his brother seemed not to notice.

"Lord Magnius, is it? I like the sound of that." Magnius was grinning. "Dismissed."

Bowing again, Julius left the little training room and rested for a moment against the wall outside. It was odd, in a way. He had expected this – exactly this – but it still hurt. He took off the helmet and wiped his eyes, looking up at the ceiling as if it had answers for him. In a perverse way, he was proud of Magnius for having the strength to lead others and the loyalty he demonstrated to Pronyma, but he could never reconcile himself to the choice his brother had made. _Don't you understand, Magnius? You can't live apart from the world like this, not if you want to prevent what happened to us._ Although, to be entirely fair, Julius himself had abandoned the world to live in Exire for many years before joining the Renegades.

He smiled at that and turned to leave, and as he did he noticed Magnius looking at him through the training room's windows with an expression of utter disbelief on his face.

Muttering a curse, he bolted for the nearest transporter.


	12. Recognition

Author's Note: Yeah, so, whenever I have a physiology test, this story gets delayed. Sorry to leave you all on such a cliffhanger last time...oh wait, no I'm not. (smirk) Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

As the ascension ceremony for Grand Cardinal Zircata approached, Botta began to feel more and more nervous. He'd elected to attend, since the ceremony was public, but watching the growing number of Desians enter the relatively small space made him feel less and less secure in his own disguise. There were still many who wore the face-concealing helmets, but here there were just as many who didn't. The three Grand Cardinals (besides Zircata, of course) were already seated on the raised stage, Pronyma closest to the center and Nuitis and Jomark to her right. Three seats on stage right remained empty, as well as the throne-like seat in the center.

Botta had arrived early to get a good view of the proceedings, so he had a good seat in the third row. The only Renegade who'd elected to join him was Gwen – most of the others had decided to use this time to collect the remaining supplies or look for Julius, who had been missing since last night. "Call it morbid curiosity," she'd explained with a strange glint in her eyes. "Why does the transformation take that particular form? Why do different angels have different colored wings? Are the feathered wings natural, or a modification?" Botta had just shaken his head, declared that those were question for Lord Yuan and not him, and agreed to take her along. Now she was intently studying the seated Cardinals with a scowl.

Relaxing a little bit at the thought that he wasn't alone, Botta also turned his gaze towards them. Pronyma…he still hadn't been able to figure out what Yuan had implied about her, but this ceremony would be a good opportunity, he thought. She was wearing the same long gown he'd seen earlier in Yuan's office and her green hair fell loosely over her shoulders. She really did look like a piece of misplaced kelp. Jomark was next – a tall, scowling man with dark red tattoos covering much of his face. He was the cruelest of the Grand Cardinals, Botta had heard from the Tethe'allan-born Renegades. There were stories of what he liked to do to human prisoners that made Botta's flesh crawl, yet even so he wasn't feared as much as Zircata was. Last was Nuitis. Something of a mystery even to his own troops, he was dark-haired and red-eyed, clad in black. For all that his features held a slight smile, an aura of menace even greater than Jomark's radiated from the gaunt man. Yuan had described Nuitis as "subtle, intelligent, and the one most likely to discover you, if anyone does". Accordingly, they had all kept out of his way as much as possible.

"Are we sure Pronyma will become the next leader?" Gwen asked Botta in an undertone.

Botta nodded slightly. "She is currently second in command and favored by Lord Yggdrasill. Though, as her element is Darkness, it is unlikely she would be further promoted."

"And those two are okay with that?" she continued, her gaze not leaving the Cardinals.

"I am told neither of them seeks a commanding role. Lord Nuitis is too wrapped up in some elaborate plan and Lord Jomark is not truly suited to the role, or so the officers say."

Gwen's next words were interrupted by the soft _swish_ of the automatic doors and the silencing effect of the entrance of the Seraphim into the room. Led by the stunning presence of Lord Yggdrasill (Botta found himself unable to drop the honorific, even in his mind, when in the presence of the leader of Cruxis), the angels took the three seats on stage right. He noticed Yuan scanning the crowd discreetly and then giving a very slight nod as his gaze settled on the two of them. Botta inclined his head in response and shifted his gaze to study the middle figure. He'd heard a lot about Kratos, but he'd never seen the Seraph that Yuan identified as his oldest friend.

Kratos's eyes held a faint expression of boredom as they flickered around the room, assessing the people gathered there. He was the only one in the assembly to openly wear a weapon – the legendary Flamberge sword. He moved with the effortless grace of a hunting cat and an aura of confidence completely at odds with the situation of being the only human in a room full of humanity-hating Desians. But then, Botta reminded himself at the sight of Kratos's blue wings, Yuan had said that Kratos hadn't considered himself human for thousands of years.

_I wonder if that's really true._

Botta smiled ever so slightly at that thought as Lord Yggdrasill began his speech – something about rewards of service, the honor of living on Derris-Kharlan, and the Age of Half-Elves. He didn't really pay any attention. Welgaia was _boring_ and the cost of the Age of Half-Elves was too high. He fixed his gaze back on Pronyma.

Somewhat to his surprise, she was watching Lord Yggdrasill with a nearly religious rapture. _Surely she's heard this all before_, he thought with a slight sense of confusion. She reminded him of…of _someone_. Botta frowned as he tried to chase down the elusive thought. It couldn't be the hair. Green hair was common enough as to be unremarkable among half-elves – even Lucien had dyed his hair green when living among humans and it hadn't elicited any more comments than he'd expected, or so the young mage had explained.

A loud cheer from around him broke his pattern of thought, and Botta belatedly added his voice to the others as Zircata, leader of the Five Grand Cardinals, entered the room. Botta's first, surprised thought was _is he really that short?_ Zircata was even smaller that Yuan, and the Seraph was not tall by anyone's reckoning, especially next to Kratos and Lord Yggdrasill. The supreme leader of Cruxis was more than two heads taller than the Grand Cardinal, or so it seemed to Botta, until Zircata turned his scowling, squint-eyed face upon the crowd. Botta found himself shrinking back as the man's aura swept over the crowd, prompting even louder cheering. _The most intimidating of the Cardinals_, Yuan had said, and Botta believed it in that moment. There was no compassion at all in Zircata's fierce gaze and, now that he was turned to face the crowd, it was clear that the man's presence was nearly as strong as that of Lord Yggdrasill himself.

A silence fell gradually as Lord Yggdrasill held up a hand with a glowing object in his hand – probably the Cruxis Crystal. Once the crowd had calmed down, he walked over to the now-smirking Zircata and placed his opposite hand over the man's Key Crest, set into his hand as was the Desian custom. A soft _pop_ released the Exsphere, which Lord Yggdrasill replaced with the Cruxis Crystal. Botta noticed Kratos and Yuan tensing out of the corner of his eye as Zircata closed his eyes and Lord Yggdrasill began to chant words in the angelic language. Soft, multicolored light began to flow into the body of the former Grand Cardinal, growing stronger and stronger until Botta (and most of the crowd, he noticed) was forced to look away. A loud clapping sound followed the sudden absence of light and Botta quickly looked back at the stage. Kratos and Yuan were exchanging relieved smiles, Pronyma and Lord Yggdrasill were exchanging something different, and brilliant white-feathered wings protruded from the back of the angel Zircata.

Botta blinked and looked back at Pronyma. The look she was giving Cruxis's tall leader was full of…lust? Seeing that, he nearly fell backwards with a gasp as it all began to fit together in his mind.

Pronyma's features and expressions. Yggdrasill's build and height. What was very rare but might possibly happen if someone mixed an affinity with Darkness and an affinity for Light. Someone with a Desian mother who had been born in the Tower of Salvation. Yuan's words: "it's not my secret alone to tell."

_And the fact that Lucien had never, ever dyed his hair golden._

Botta tried to regain his composure. He was, at that moment, extremely grateful for the face-concealing nature of the helmets, certain that his expression would have given him away. It all fit. Something Pronyma had been responsible for that Yuan had sabotaged though, exactly as Yuan had claimed, it wasn't entirely his fault. Botta had been one of the ones Lucien had confided in about his past and the danger he'd gone through to escape Cruxis by faking his own death, how he'd spent hours locked up with Yuan planning it, and how his mother, unnamed in the story, had grown suspicious of the two until she tried to forcibly separate them, triggering the burst of anger that had lead to the seemingly-suicidal explosion. Finally he managed to look up at Yuan, who was staring at him.

Yuan glanced in the direction of Pronyma and Yggdrasill and then back at Botta. Very deliberately, he nodded his head, confirming Botta's suspicion.

Amidst the wild celebration for the promotion of a new angel, Botta felt like he was going to be sick.


	13. My Brother

Author's Note: By popular demand. (laugh) I swear, I had no idea you guys liked my lil Julius this much. Love to all my reviewers.

* * *

Julius was very, very lost. The problem with taking random transport warps in the Tower of Salvation was that there were a lot of broken, restricted, or just outright unlabelled ones. He'd had a particularly harrowing experience when he found himself in a room without gravity, and only some panicked Wind magic had saved him from crashing ungracefully into the walls. That was a few hours ago, or at least it seemed that way, because now he was beneath the bulk to the Tower somewhere in the tunnels near where they dropped off the supplies for the other group to pick up.

At least, he _thought_ there was probably only one place with these sad, withered tree roots and unfriendly plants.

He couldn't have put into words _why_ he was desperate to get away from his brother. That Magnius was following him was certain – Julius had caught glimpses of him from time to time. It would be a little easer for Magnius to follow him down here, though. Despite the low visibility and frequent turnings of the tunnels in this area, it was pretty obvious to tell which roots had been blasted by fire recently.

Julius cursed at the passage turned into yet another dead end. He circled back, but this time he was trapped by stone slabs on three sides and a figure as familiar as his own reflection on the fourth. His shoulders slumped as he resigned himself to defeat.

"Julius," said his brother quietly. Magnius's expression was a mixture of hurt, anger, bewilderment, and, beneath it all, a tiny flicker of hope. "You going to stop running now?"

Julius grimaced. _I think you'd catch me if I tried to break past you._ He nodded. "I'm a little surprised you didn't recognize my voice," he said unsteadily.

"That's because I haven't heard it in ninety-three years," Magnius snapped. "Julius, what are you _doing_ here? You're supposed to be living safe in Exire."

Julius blinked, repressing a sudden urge to laugh. _I suppose information does flow both ways, after all._ He knew how to deal with anger, though. "The part about being concerned that you'd become a Grand Cardinal wasn't a lie," he snapped back. "Admittedly, I only learned that once I'd gotten here, but…Magnius, I needed to talk to you."

"You've got a fine way of showing it," Magnius grumbled. "You're a lot better at running than you used to be."

"And you've learned patience," Julius pointed out. "There was a time when you'd have given up after the first few minutes."

"I suppose you're right," he admitted. Julius noted with relief that his brother's words had lost the edge of anger they'd had earlier. "Julius, why didn't you just tell me it was you? Why did you run?"

That really was the question, wasn't it? He wasn't sure himself. "Maybe I don't like the idea of my brother being a Grand Cardinal," Julius said sullenly. "I had to see if it was really what you wanted, Magnius."

To his complete surprise, a look of guilt flashed across Magnius's face. "It's less about what I want and more about what's necessary, Julius. The politics here are like nothing you could imagine. If I don't take what's offered, I'll be stabbed in the back by people who _do_ want it."

"Like that Zegna guy."

"Yes. I'd rather be the one doing the stabbing, naturally." Magnius grinned nastily.

Julius began to massage his temple. "I take it you wouldn't accept my offer of escape, then? To come back to the real world and live with me?" He knew he sounded wistful, but he couldn't help it.

This actually gave Magnius pause, but eventually he shook his head. "No, I can't. Even in Exire they're dependant on humans. At least from here, we're making our own future."

Julius nodded. "Well, if you ever change your mind, there will always be a place for you by my side, brother. I want you to know that."

Magnius smiled, and for once there wasn't an undertone of sadism. "If you ever change _your_ mind, there will always be a place for you by my side, brother."

"Fair enough, I suppose." Julius checked himself. "Oh, by the way, there _was_ something I wanted to tell you."

"What's that?"

"I'm going to be moving out of Exire soon – maybe acclimate myself a little bit in Tethe'alla, but at some point I'm going to move over to Sylvarant." Well, in the Renegade bases, but Magnius didn't need to know that. Julius figured he'd probably end up on the Sylvarant side for its proximity to the Seal of Fire, if nothing else, but they still had a while before they would even begin construction on the base there.

"But if you're not in Exire, how am I supposed to keep tabs on you?" Magnius said crossly.

Julius crossed his arms. "If you care about what I'm doing, you could at least have had the courtesy to send a message or _something_ while I was there. It's rather more difficult for me to sneak in here or at a ranch than it would be for you to go _there_, you know."

Magnius opened his mouth as if to protest, and then closed it again. "Right. And if I report your presence to Security, they'll make it so you can't visit me at all, then." He scowled as Julius hid a smile. Not that Julius had any doubts about Lord Yuan's ability to get official access for him, but he wasn't about to tell that to Magnius.

"If you need to leave a message for me in Exire, I'll make an effort to check back there as long as I'm in Tethe'alla. And once I get settled in Sylvarant, I'll leave a contact address for you there, too." It couldn't be anywhere near the base, of course, but that's what Rheiards were for.

"That will have to do." Magnius bit his lip. "I…didn't realize how much I missed you, Julius. I'm sorry."

Julius tried his best not to look astonished. Magnius, the Grand Cardinal-elect who supposedly didn't have much compassion in him at all, had just _apologized_ to him.

It made Julius feel better than he had since he'd first decided to follow the Renegades.

Mollified, he seized an idea that had been brewing in the back of his mind. "Hey, I missed you too, but it _would_ be easier to sneak in and out of here if you could make it look like I _did_ have some sort of position of trust." In fact, that would be ideal. He could visit his brother as much as he wanted and try to guide him down a path of lessened cruelty and gather information for the Renegades at the same time. And maybe over time he'd be able to convince Magnius that humans weren't really all that bad, and that there was a better future than the Age of Half-Elves….

Magnius hesitated. "I'm not sure if I could do that, but I'll look into it. I can't promise you anything, but," and he grimaced again, "I suppose I do owe my big brother that much at least."

For the second time in one day, Julius could feel tears in his eyes. "Thank you," he said simply, and then laid his hand on his brother's arm. Just that, but it was enough.

They stood in silence for a few moments before Julius felt the strain of the past night begin to hit him. He wasn't used to putting up with this much emotional or physical stress at a time. He yawned.

"I don't suppose you know the way out of here?"


	14. The Meeting

Author's Note: Woo, finally! We're getting close to the end of this one. Enjoy!

* * *

Yuan could feel the tension in the air as he entered the meeting room. Fortunately, it didn't seem to affect him very much. Julius had finally been found by one of the others (in the company of his brother, no less) and, given the contents of his report, Yuan realized that the outcome of this meeting didn't matter much at all. Even if Pronyma somehow got both of her favorites into position, one of them wouldn't last very long.

"You seem to be in a good mood today," Kratos murmured sourly as Yuan took his place beside his old friend.

"I suppose I am. You're not."

"Very astute of you," Kratos said drily. "Yuan, why are we even here?"

"You mean, why are we in a meeting to decide the next Grand Cardinals when Lord Yggdrasill doesn't even give us a chance to mingle with the troops and decide for ourselves who's best suited for the job?"

"Something along those lines, yes."

"To dangle our position over their heads and remind them that their illusion of control is just that."

This drew a chuckle from Nuitis, the only other one in the room so far. "A grand height to which some of us may never rise," he said with just a faint trace of irony in his voice. Nuitis was a disciple of Darkness magic.

"Do _you_ favor anyone, Lord Nuitis?" Yuan asked curiously.

The Grand Cardinal shook his head. "Morons, the lot of them," he stated flatly. Yuan and Kratos grinned at each other. "If there were someone I favored to lead, I'd step down and let them lead in my place."

"You wouldn't prefer to have an ally among the ranks?" Kratos inquired. That was standard practice, after all, and what Pronyma was hoping to accomplish.

Nuitis grinned. Yuan found it rather creepy, all things considered. "If I considered someone fit to lead, it would be based on their cunning and ambition. As it is, my fellow Cardinals have only the latter, so they are no threat to me."

Yuan nodded. "So your idea of a good candidate would be someone you'd have to watch your back around."

"Who better to carry on my plans?" Nuitis responded, raising an eyebrow.

Noting to himself once again that keeping an eye on Nuitis would be a good idea, Yuan was cut off from responding by the simultaneous entrance of Pronyma and Jomark. They were arguing, predictably, about the candidates. Nuitis just gave a significant look at the two Seraphim and shrugged, fading into the background with the ease of long practice.

Soon, Yggdrasill entered the room and the arguments stopped. "As I understand it," he began without preamble, "we have three suitable candidates for two positions. Who wants to explain to me why I should reject one of them?"

"Lord Yggdrasill, it is _more_ than clear that my men are best suited for the job," Pronyma said primly. "Their records are superb, and they're both very dedicated to our ideals. Moreover, neither of them has the impossible ideal of living up to a father like Zircata."

These were all good points, but Jomark wouldn't yield his position. "Yet Kvar's been leading his mother's legion for close to thirty years and there's been nothing but praise for him. It would cause less confusion to let him stay in that position, only with official sanction. There'll be enough chaos with two legions getting new leaders as it is."

"Kvar's very independent-minded," Yggdrasill scowled. Yuan noticed Nuitis hiding a grin.

"Magnius and Jacob will do whatever I tell them," Pronyma said quickly.

"Independent thinking leads to new innovations and greater power for us all," countered Jomark.

"You just don't want Kvar in position because he threatens your leadership," Yuan taunted, directing his gaze to Pronyma.

"Enough, Yuan," snapped Yggdrasill. "Zircata's son or not, no mere _boy_ is going to rise to the head of the Five Grand Cardinals."

There was an obvious response to _that_ one, but Yuan held his tongue. He noticed Kratos clenching his fists, probably thinking the same thing. _"Yes Mithos, no mere boy is capable of leading others or accomplishing anything of note."_

"If you had to choose one of them," Yggdrasill continued to Pronyma, "which would it be and why?"

She hesitated only a moment, confirming Julius's report that she was only expecting to win one of the positions anyway. "Jacob. He has seniority."

If Julius hadn't urged him not to, Yuan would have asked something along the lines of "but is he more competent?" Since he had an inkling of her plan, though, he let it rest.

"Very well," Yggdrasill said. "Does anyone besides Pronyma object to the positions being given to Jacob and Kvar? Keep in mind that this means you will be dealing directly with these individuals from now on and will be expected to deal with them civilly, at least around me. The last thing I need is to be breaking up fights between the five of you. I'm busy enough as it is."

_He seems more irritated than usual._ Yuan glanced at Kratos, who nodded and then spoke for both of them. "The Seraphim have no objection."

Nuitis murmured his assent, and Jomark nodded. "The position of Grand Cardinal of the Desians will be granted to Jacob Zegna and Kvar son of Zircata, then," Yggdrasill declared. "I shall inform those two of their new status when I deem it appropriate. Now get out of my sight, all of you."

Yuan grinned at Kratos as they shuffled out of the meeting room, ignoring the others as they ignored him. "That means he won't be calling on us for a while," he said happily.

"You can get back to your secret project," agreed Kratos. "What in the world do you need all those Desian flunkies for, anyway?"

This was getting tricky. Yuan didn't want to lie to Kratos, but he didn't dare tell his friend the truth, either. He decided to temporize with a partial truth. "You know I've always wanted my own office on the surface," he said in a bare whisper, one that even angelic ears would have trouble making out from a distance. "And you know he's never going to give me permission."

Kratos stopped and stared at him. A flicker of _something_ ran across his face, and Yuan wished (not for the first time) that Kratos was a little easier to read. _Damn his poker face, anyway._

"With your skill, it would be a simple matter to redirect messages sent over the computer system to a place on the surface," Kratos said slowly. "So if you just paid constant attention to your messages, you wouldn't miss any important meetings. He'd never even really know you were gone."

_I guess it would be that easy,_ Yuan thought, surprised. _I never thought of that._

"You'd know," Yuan said uncertainly. "You actually bother to seek me out once in a while."

Kratos suddenly looked despondent. "Once in a while," he repeated bitterly. "Yuan, I know I haven't been everything you need in a friend—"

Yuan cut him off with an angry gesture. "Don't be stupid," he hissed. "I'd go mad if I were stuck up here without you and _you know it_. Don't even _think_ that you aren't my best friend, because you are." He took a deep breath. "Just because I need more interaction than you can provide, that _isn't_ a failing on your part, Kratos. It's _not_." He softened his expression. "Besides, it's not like I'll be leaving here permanently. I know my responsibilities." _All too well._ "And if you ever need to talk to me and I'm not around – _ever_ – you can send me a message and I'll treat it with greater urgency than I would anything from Mithos. That's a promise, Kratos."

Kratos relaxed. He actually smiled. "And I don't even need to tell anyone that you're gone," he mused.

"Honestly, I don't the rest of them care."

"You're probably right," Kratos admitted. "And…it would make you happy, wouldn't it?"

"Living on the surface?" Kratos nodded. Yuan thought about it for a moment. "It would, Kratos. The very thought of it makes me happier than I've been in a long time." And that was the pure truth.

Kratos closed his eyes. When he opened them again, there was only a hint of sadness in them. "Then I wish you luck. Your secret is safe with me."

"Thank you," Yuan whispered.


	15. Exit Stage Left

Author's Note: Fiiiinally. Sheesh. Yeah yeah, you've all heard excuses and they all suck. Next one will be up faster, I promise.

By the way, I'm nearing the end of this story...

* * *

It was with a profound sense of relief that Botta crossed the last item off his checklist. He was beginning to miss the feel of sunlight on his skin, breezes in the air, and solid ground beneath his feet (though he didn't have that in Exire, not really). Living on a small, snowcapped island near Flanoir was going to take some getting used to, but it would be nice to have a place of their own where they didn't have to watch their steps or their words: a place where you could trust anyone you saw in the hallways and freely discuss the plans to bring back the Great Seed.

"Is that all of it, sir?" Gwen asked hopefully.

"That is all of it," Botta said, smiling. "As soon as Lord Yuan rejoins us, our mission will be complete."

"Do we have to wait for him, or can we go collect him?" Julius asked. "I'd prefer to get back as soon as possible."

"It is nerve-wracking to be here," Botta conceded. "We can certainly try to see if he is finished yet. You two come with me. The rest of you, prepare to leave and make sure all the construction materials are in their proper places for pickup."

A chorus of assent made Botta smile as he, Julius, and Gwen grabbed their helmets. "You two haven't been to Welgaia before, have you?"

His subordinates shook their heads. "From what Lord Yuan says, the angels will only bother us if they have orders to do so," Gwen said in a questioning tone. "Do they really not care?"

Botta hesitated. It was hard to say for sure. "They act as though they do not," he finally said. "You would have to ask Lord Yuan for more details, though you should get a chance to observe them firsthand in a moment here." He'd never been able to stand the emotionless angels himself. If it hadn't been for Yuan, he would never have returned here of his own free will…though that was circular thinking, as Botta had only come to Welgaia in the first place because Yuan had ordered him to do so.

"Is the Seraph in office?" he asked the communicator outside Yuan's door.

"Just a moment," it said in Yuan's voice. "Arrgh. Get in here, Botta."

That was a tone of voice they all knew well. Botta repressed a snicker. Gwen giggled and Julius just rolled his eyes. The door opened to reveal Yuan, back in his normal clothes again, glaring at one of his potted plants.

Yuan nodded once. "Yes, yes, I know, you'd all like to get out of here as soon as possible, but I can't get the damn thing to drop any pods and I _need_ to bring some seeds with me. You, Gwen! Stop laughing. Botta, teach Gwen about sympathetic magic as soon as we get back."

"Yes, sir," Botta said. "Would you like any help?" Gardening _was_ his hobby, after all.

"Well, all right. What it's supposed to do is _this_." Yuan gestured and a complex, three-dimensional diagram appeared in the air in front of him. Julius and Botta, who were familiar with this visual way of explaining spells, began to inspect it.

"I see," Botta mused. "You want to accelerate its growth, but the plant has been in stasis. It should work, as long as the plant has enough nutrients."

"But it's not working," Yuan complained.

"Have you _watered_ it recently?" Gwen asked archly. Botta grinned. Yuan muttered something under his breath. "What was that, Lord Yuan?"

"I _said_, not in the past seven hundred years or so!" Yuan replied with a black look. "With the amount of times I get called away to do moronic missions for weeks at a time, they'd have died of neglect long ago if I didn't use a stasis field." His expression softened. "Though once we're moved into the new base, there should always be _someone_ around to water the new plants."

"I shall see to it personally, sir," Botta promised. He uncapped his own water bottle and gently fed the plant nearest him, checking the soil to make sure it was healthy and slightly boosting its nitrogen content with one of his favorite spells. Gnome had taught him many skills regarding rock and soil, and not all of them were combat-related. "There we are," he said soothingly to the plant as it unfurled a leaf and dropped a dark brown seed pod into Yuan's hand.

Yuan beamed a smile at Botta as he carefully wrapped the pod in a small square of silk and set in into a deceptively tiny dwarven-made travel pack.

"I'm trying to follow what you just did there, sir," Julius said, sounding perplexed. "With the soil, I mean. Couldn't you use that to revive crops and the like?"

"A technique I learned from the Summon Spirit of Earth, and it could be used on crops to a certain extent. It would only strengthen the earth itself – too little mana or water, or too much wind or sun, will still cause the plant to fail. It's very useful for small-scale gardening, though."

"Even if we all learned how to make the earth more fertile, the mana decline would still cause famines when it got severe," Yuan said gently. "That's why we have to attack the core problem, Julius."

"Of course," Julius replied automatically. "I didn't mean to suggest otherwise."

"It does look useful, though," Gwen said plaintively. "Could you show us how, or do you have to be Earth-aligned?"

Botta frowned. "I could try. I believe it has more to do with one's level of fine control and less to do with one's elemental alignment."

"It also helps if you're in direct contact with Gnome's mana, which we're _not_," Yuan interjected. "Can we leave yet? I'm ready."

"Of course, Lord Yuan. Do you wish to rejoin the others, or will you meet us on the surface?" Botta motioned for the others to fall behind him as they followed Yuan out the door.

"I'll come with you, of course. I intend to spend as much time as possible with you all to make up for the times I haven't been there."

"They have been few enough," Botta said quietly as they began making their way through the city and down to the barracks where the Renegades waited. "There are times when you must leave us to work for Cruxis or risk losing all we have worked for. We understand this." _Though I wish you never had to leave._

"It won't be as often as it was, I can promise you that. Kratos promised to cover for me." Yuan sounded proud.

"You told Kratos?" Botta asked with a hint of panic in his voice. _No, Yuan said he wouldn't. Kratos is too close to Lord Yggdrasill, everyone knows that._

"He knows I'll be working from the surface," Yuan assured Botta. "No more than that. I wish I _could_," he said wistfully, "but then, if he agreed with me I wouldn't need to. Neither of us working alone could stand up to Mithos, but the two of us combined…wouldn't need to."

There was really nothing Botta could say to that, so he didn't reply. After a few moments, he decided to breach a topic he hadn't had a chance to mention yet. "Sir? Do you think young Lucien is doing all right down there?" If he'd read the signs correctly, Lucien was a little more than he appeared at first glance and, though Yuan had forbidden him to speak directly of it, Botta wanted to confirm the guess he'd made at the ascension ceremony.

Yuan grinned. "Knowing him, he's probably either done amazingly well or botched the operation completely, but the lack of cries for help from the salvage team argues for the former. You do understand why I give him a little more attention than is strictly necessary?" Yuan's voice dropped. "He's only three steps away from…from Martel. He could have been my nephew, Botta."

_Could have been_. If Yuan had been married instead of engaged. Botta decided to steer the conversation away from that particular topic. "In a way we are all a family, Lord Yuan," he pointed out.

To his surprise, Yuan laughed out loud. "Yes, Botta, you and I and a bunch of idiot children." He winked and nodded his head at the two Renegades following them.

"I heard that! You're gonna get it when we get back to base, Lord Yuan!"

Yuan and Botta just grinned at each other.


	16. Home

Author's Note: What can I say? I'm very very sorry this took so long. I hope people are still reading this story. I love all of you. :)

* * *

"Sir! They're back!"

Lucien broke out of his reverie and blinked at Miguel for a moment before the words took effect. Magical trances could be like that sometimes. "You mean Lord Botta and the others?"

Miguel nodded, grinning broadly. "_And_ Lord Yuan's with them."

"Oh, good," Lucien said, echoing the other man's smile. "Good." He scrambled to his feet, letting the rough drawings he'd made of the future placement of important things in this room fall to the floor. _This is going to be so much easier with Botta and Julius and Lord Yuan and everyone!_ He began walking quickly to the cavern entrance, noting absently how Miguel fell into step behind him automatically. _And we've even got a day left until the meeting with the people from Mizuho. I wonder if they'll mind that I've made contact with some humans. _He didn't think they'd mind. Lucien hadn't told them anything specific, only that they were a group of half-elves that weren't Desians.

Catching the sound of activity coming from up ahead, Lucien broke into a run. "You're back!" he cried when he rounded the corner and saw the others.

"We're back," Yuan agreed. "For good this time. Did you miss us?"

"Yes! Who am I supposed to discuss complex magical theory with if you're gone, Lord Yuan? And if you think there's anyone else who can open tunnels through these caves as easily as Lord Botta, I'd like to meet them. It's _hard_."

"No, weaving together five different elements in one of those insane spells of yours is hard, Lucien," Botta stated. "I will be able to help you as soon as we unload everything."

"We should have a meeting, too," Yuan interjected. "There are certain things going on within Cruxis that everyone should be made aware of. I'd also like to discuss this mission with you, Lucien – I want your full report."

Lucien nodded. _That won't be too hard._ "Okay. I can have that for you in a few minutes if you like." Aside from the Mizuho spy, there hadn't really been anything out of the ordinary.

"I'll want those few minutes to relax, thank you." Yuan made a face at Lucien. "If you can be ready in half an hour, Botta and I will receive your report then."

"Yes, sir!" Lucien could barely contain his excitement. _They're finally back!_

He would never tell anyone, of course, but Lucien always secretly feared that people who went to the Tower of Salvation wouldn't return, or they'd be changed somehow. He hated that place. _I'll take my chances with the humans,_ he'd told Yuan on that long-ago day when he'd confessed his desire to get out of Cruxis's hands by whatever means possible. It was a gamble that had worked, in part at least because he'd always been able to "pass" for human.

It was odd, really, how human features would dominate in one half-elf, while others could claim to be elves with almost total success – and how some, like Botta, managed to end up with the dominant features from _both_ sides. Nobody was ever going to think he was human, not with those ears. Nobody was ever going to think he was an elf, not with that build. On the other hand, he would also never have to live a life of disguise, lying about himself in order to gain acceptance.

It was simply wonderful to be around people like himself, though, because then Lucien didn't have to hide his elven blood. Even if he did hide the rest of his background for fear of alienating the lot of them.

Lucien scowled. He hated Cruxis, and he hated the Tower of Salvation, but he couldn't for the life of him imagine hating people just because they were human – or half-elven, or even elven. They were still _people_. But his parents didn't share this view. Oh no. To them, anyone who was _different_ had to be eliminated.

Never mind that even other half-elves though Lucien was weird.

_Well_, he amended, _Lord Yuan and Lord Botta may think I'm weird, but at least they encourage my oddness._ "Insane spells"? He'd show Botta what insane was, all right. One of these days, he'd figure out a way to mix all eight elements together without making them cancel each other out, and _then_ they'd….

Well, okay, they'd probably just scratch their heads in confusion, except for Lord Yuan, who would crack up. But that would make it all worthwhile, of course.

Lucien sighed. He was alone in the room where he'd dropped the plans earlier, going around and picking up all his loose ends in order to form a coherent report. _Administration is a lot of work, even if there were only a few people on my team. I guess I know how Lord Yuan keeps busy all the time._

When he was finally sure that he had all of his materials and that a half-hour had passed, Lucien wandered over to the section of caves that Botta had marked "Office?" on the chart. It could be offices, Lucien concluded as he entered the small set of caverns. They weren't big enough to be industrial or storage (or the Rheiard hangar Lucien was hoping they'd let him build). It could also be residential, though. They'd have to make some more complete plans first. It was going to be great fun.

"Lucien," Yuan said seriously from his position at the back of the cavern. "I have some rather serious things to discuss with you, so I'm going to raise a sound barrier."

Lucien nodded, frowning. _I hope nothing went wrong on their end._

As Yuan was raising the light electrical field that would prevent sound from passing the mouth of the cavern, Botta turned his gaze upon Lucien with something a little odd in his eyes. "From your willingness to give us an immediate report, I would gather that nothing drastic happened," Botta stated.

Lucien nodded. "No. Well, yes. Kind of."

"More specificity, please," Yuan ordered crisply.

"Well, ah…We found a lot of useful things at the ranch, to begin with. Good idea to raid that place for extra materials. But while we were there, I kept finding these weird signs, like someone was watching us all the time. Only, we never found anyone." Lucien started warming up to the story as he told it. "Then, last week there was this big snowstorm, so I thought we'd go in there with the fresh snow and see if we could track this spy, whatever it was. Only it turned out he wasn't some kid from Flanoir or some wild animal or anything. It was someone from this place Mizuho and—"

"Mizuho?" Yuan interrupted incredulously. "And he showed himself to you?"

Botta looked as blank as Lucien had when he'd first heard the name. _Definitely a Tethe'allan thing, then._ "Well, he didn't really show himself to me so much as I managed to penetrate his disguise," Lucien admitted.

Yuan whistled. "That's not easy. What was he disguised as?"

"A snowdrift." Lucien enjoyed Botta's expression at the remark. Usually only Yuan could make him do the "really trying hard not to laugh" face. "Anyway, he said that his village was looking for people like us – half-elves, I mean, who aren't affiliated with the Desians. And he didn't just go to Exire because humans don't know about Exire, so they'd been keeping a watch on all the old human ranches in case they saw anyone…."

"And then they did," Yuan finished for him. "Fascinating. What did they need half-elves for?"

"Well, he didn't say for sure, but he implied it was because they knew a half-elf who wanted to meet others." _Probably to learn magic,_ Lucien thought. _There aren't too many books on the subject on this side that aren't controlled by Sybak and the Royal Family._ The ones he knew of in Sylvarant were likewise either the property of Palmacosta or the Church. "We're supposed to meet with some of them tomorrow in Altamira to see what they really want, though. I said I'd bring myself and one other so I wouldn't be putting too many people at risk." He grinned. "So far, everyone who knows about it wants to be the other person. I guess Mizuho's pretty famous."

"It's very mysterious," Yuan agreed. "Remind me to tell you some time about how the village was founded. Is that the only important thing that happened while we were away?" Lucien nodded, and Yuan's voice dropped a bit into a more serious tone. "It went more or less as expected on our side, as well. There were a few promotions. Zircata – well, he's Zachariel now."

Lucien felt a flash of something ugly inside him and tried to repress it as best he could. _Zachariel._ That was an angelic name. "So…Kvar is a Cardinal now?" he asked in as neutral a voice as he could manage.

"And someone named Jacob to fill the fifth spot." Yuan's voice softened. "Pronyma's the new leader."

Lucien bit his lip. "I suppose I should have seen that coming," he whispered.

There was genuine sympathy in Yuan's eyes now. "I'm sorry, Lucien, but that isn't all. While we were there, Botta…figured it out."

Lucien didn't have to ask what Yuan meant by that. He closed his eyes, fighting back tears. _So now he knows. I wonder if he'll hate me._ He probably would. Even Lucien hated himself sometimes. It was too bad, really. Botta was…a good person. He was smart, really smart, and he had more patience than anyone else Lucien had ever known, even with the stupidest questions. And he knew Sylvarant, which almost no one else did, and he'd even studied with _Gnome_.

And, he'd confessed to Lucien one day, he truly hated Yggdrasill for a number of reasons, most of which had to do with Yuan.

Lucien felt a hand on his shoulder and opened his eyes to find, to his surprise, that Botta was looking at him almost angrily. "Lucien," he said, "please, do not think this makes me like or respect you any less. You are still the most brilliant theoretical mage I have ever known. You still managed to make your own place in human society for fifteen years without any help whatsoever. You are still Lucien Terranon, no matter who your parents were. Do you understand? You are still yourself!"

Lucien nodded with a different kind of tears coming to his eyes now.

"All this truly means is that I must try even harder to keep you away from Cruxis," Botta continued. "I will not tell this to anyone without your direct permission."

Lucien tried to say something, to thank him, but he couldn't seem to find any words. He settled for nodding again. He knew he'd have to make it up to Botta some day, somehow.

"Hey, we Renegades have to look out for each other, you know?" Yuan said gently. "We'll never get anything accomplished if we don't. And we really do have a lot to do. We have this base to build, after all."

"Yeah," Lucien said, finding he could talk again. "We'd better start on it."


	17. Now With More Ninjas

Author's Note: All right guys, at long last here it is. This'll be the last chapter, as they're moving in from the "freeloading in Exire" stage to the "living in their own base and actively recruiting people" phase. :)

Yes, there will be more parts. Expect at least one sidestory oneshot thing before another chaptered section. For those of you who have been keeping up and reviewing every chapter, YOU RULE! For those of you who have been keeping up, but only reviewed once or twice...Hi, nice to meet you, you should give me more feedback so I can become better. ;) And for those of you who have story alerts enabled but never commented...well, thanks, obviously there's something you like, but what could it be:)

Anyway here you go. Enjoy!

* * *

The people from Mizuho were _good_, Botta had to admit. He'd only spotted two of them so far, and one of those was only because he could tell real ground from fake by one of Gnome's spells. The three cloaked figures who'd checked into the hotel didn't count, of course – they were obvious – but Yuan had offered a reward to whoever could spot the most undercover agents. Though the Renegades were dressed in plainclothes, they were still pretty easy to pick out in the crowd. Bizarre hair colors were, after all, considered normal for half-elves….

"All right," Lucien said quietly, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Let's go down to the lobby." They'd ended up deciding to bring three people instead of two – Yuan wanted Botta to act as commander of the Renegades, but deemed it unfair that the Tethe'allans, who were the ones who knew all the stories about Mizuho, shouldn't get a chance to talk to them. A delighted-looking Gwen had won the raffle and fairly bounced down the stairs ahead of Lucien and Botta.

Sure enough, the three cloaked figures were waiting for them. And sure enough, one of them had the unmistakable half-elven mana signature. "Arashi?" asked Lucien tentatively.

The figure on the left lifted the hood of his cloak to reveal a fairly normal-looking man. Lucien seemed to relax, so Botta figured it was the right person. "I brought two others instead of just one," Lucien said apologetically.

Arashi glanced at the other human figure, who nodded slightly. "That's quite all right," he said. "May I ask why?"

"Curiosity," Gwen said promptly. "Don't think we haven't been raised on stories of ninjas and subterfuge and weird magic, because that's what everyone says about Mizuho."

This drew a chuckle from the still-hooded human figure, revealing a deep male voice. "Indeed, curiosity is a powerful force," he said, showing only a slight trace of a strange accent. "It is what brings us here as well." He paused. "There are more of you than we expected."

Botta knew he was referring to the undercover Renegades. "Many of us find it easiest to live among those who understand us," he said, "which is why our numbers have grown. Unfortunately, it is one of the ways the Desians draw in the ones with nowhere else to go." He should know. The thought of really belonging somewhere had overridden his common sense, albeit briefly. _I am very glad Lord Yuan found me_.

Arashi winced a little bit at the word "Desians". "Well, that's really what we wanted to talk to you about," he said. "You said you weren't Desians. So who are you?"

"I am Botta, and I lead this group. We call ourselves Renegades, as is the proper term for those who have betrayed the Desians. Although it was brief, I too was once one of them," he admitted. "I managed to get away, and since then I have been able to make contact with others who, like myself, feel that the image of half-elves only as monsters who destroy human lives will ultimately lead to greater prejudice and loss of half-elven lives. We advocate the belief that all people have a right to live in the world, regardless of what race they were born into. Drawing lines based on blood and not on quality of character does not make the world a better place.

"We want to prove that humans and half-elves can learn to live together peacefully. We believe that the races are capable of offering much to each other." This was where it started to get tricky. Yuan had told him not to reveal too much about the Renegades or the nature of the two worlds just yet. He chose his words carefully. "Although the community we are building is far enough from human settlements that it cannot easily be detected, we believe this is a safety measure. In the past, gathering of half-elves into a community has often meant riots and slaughter by nearby towns. By living away from humans, yet sharing our knowledge and skills, we believe we can build a value for ourselves in the eyes of society, but it is by no means certain. To defend ourselves against attack from both potentially hostile humans, and from the Desians who believe other than we do, each of our members is taught combat skills."

Arashi looked like he wanted to ask something, but the hooded man spoke first. "So you think the Desians could attack you, even though they were sealed away thirty years ago by the Chosen?"

"The seal weakens with time," Lucien said. "And if there's one thing we have, it's time. Before Umbran's journey, it was seven hundred years ago when Caena completed the World Restoration. It's a long time, but it's still within the memory of some of our members. We do live for close to a thousand years, if we aren't killed. We have maybe four hundred years until the mana flow peaks, and then what? Wait idly for the world to fall into ruin? I'm not planning on doing that."

Botta nodded. "Lucien is right. They will return some day, and it is better to have a plan of action. Because we live long lives, we have a responsibility to see to it that the lessons of the past are not forgotten. Because of the Desians, many people hate all half-elves and reject the ones who try to live peacefully among them. In turn, we become bitter and seduced by the Desian ideology. It is a cycle as vicious as that of a world that prospers, only to decline into famine and conflict.

"Our ultimate goal is to end the cycle of destruction and restoration, and see the world prosper. In doing so, we will build a place for ourselves and try to earn respect enough to make our own lives ones not of hiding, but of open acceptance. I am afraid I cannot be more specific to outsiders, as accomplishing this goal may put us all at risk, but that is what you would have to gain by allying yourselves with us."

All three of the people from Mizuho nodded. "I think we have much to learn from each other, Botta. Ayu?" asked the hooded man.

The other one nodded and spun around quickly, removing her cloak to reveal a rather striking-looking half-elven woman dressed in odd clothes. "Then I should like to ally myself with you," she said, smiling at an awestruck Gwen and a grinning Lucien. "My name is Ayu."

Even Botta was smiling. He sketched a formal bow. "Welcome to the Renegades," he said.


End file.
